2005-02-26 
 

fairy tales

Over the past month I've had two reasons to contemplate the ethics of blogging. The first came, oddly enough, from a university student doing a survey about Ethics in Blogging. The second came from certain comments that folks made about the veracity of Secret Simon's site (new link to left). Here's the way I figure it:

Mikey's Blog Manifesto

I blog because I want to, not because I'm trying to impress the likes of you.

Achieving originality has become near impossible in most mediums, but even more so on the increasingly level playing field of blogs. Google shows about 2000 returns for "blog manifesto" and jumps to well over 400,000 when you remove the quotation marks. Blogging is not about being the first with an idea or the first to report on events, it's about expressing your thoughts on ideas and events.

I blog my own personal truths.
A. Based on Actual Facts
B. Loosely Based on Actual Facts
C. Based Completely on Imagined Situations
If I'm in a good mood, I might differentiate which of the above you're reading, but it's not my responsibility. If you know me personally, you might know the real truth, otherwise assume it's all C...It'll make you less cranky.

Reading a blog is a choice you make, not something I've forced you into. If you don't like what Famous Author says about Controversial Topic, you can put the book down. Likewise, if you don't like what I'm saying, click away.

If you disagree with my views/opinions feel free to say so, but don't be surprised should I delete comments that I view as offensive. My blog, my rules. If that disturbs you, find your own little corner of the internet to shout it from. I can't stop you, nor -believe it or not- would I want to. Freedom of Expression in all of it's incarnations is the right I treasure most as an American. Be it religious, political or other, if I'm not causing physical harm to another human being, don't tread on me. Try and take this right away from me though, and I will fight you.

I reserve the right to edit and/or add to this manifesto at any given point without consulting you. So there.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, linkage, writing

* posted by me at 4:00 PM

(1) comments


 

ass-o-mine

Gonna warn you up front that this entry is probably TMI for most folks, so maybe you ought to scroll on past or just check out one of the links to the left.

Went to the colon-rectal specialist today. (Heard enough? Turn back now or read on...you voyeuristic freak!) First off, the doctor is a very nice guy with kind doe eyes, and he managed to put me a bit at ease during our initial interview. That aside, it only takes a few minutes of waiting alone in the examining room to get the heart back up into overdrive. The staff leaves a variety of puzzling metallic instruments laying about in preparedness for whatever might ail you down below, and these things look like they'd be more at home in a medieval torture chamber than in a modern doctor's office. Rather large plunger devices that splay open at the touch of a button, various electronic probes, and very oddly shaped tubes to do...I don't want to know what with. Needless to say when the doctor and his assistant perform the procedure my back is to them, but my vivid imagination doesn't help very much at that point. I have to just lie still breathing deeply and repeating, "This too shall pass."

The end result - no pun intended - is that I get to go in for a full colonoscopy in a few weeks. When Mr. Doctor first told me this fun fact, I must've looked like a bunny in the headlights because he quickly let me know that I'd be fully sedated during that whole procedure. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that there were tears of relief in my eyes when I said thank you to him for passing on that information.

Labels: medical mystery

* posted by me at 1:37 AM

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2005-02-23 
 

love vs. lies

Yip, it's official. According to the media's portrayal of the Pope's new book, we gays in our quest for marriage equality are responsible for bringing an end to all that is good in the world. Not racism or war or harsh economic rule by the few of the many...it's us gays with our well coordinated clothing and artistic sensibilities that'll doom this planet to eternal hellfire. After all, my desire to love a man instead of a woman is an instrument of Satan with a capital S, right?

Sorry folks, but given a chance to choose between living in love or living a lie, I'm going to go for the love. If I'm truly hurting anyone by doing that, I wish they'd explain how.

Labels: rant

* posted by me at 9:15 PM

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2005-02-22 
 

sidewalk snapshots

Let me start the day by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most beautiful woman in my world: Mom! Wishing you the very best birthday and a wonderful year.

In honor of my Mom, from whom I inherited both shutterbug fever and a tendency towards environmentalism, I'm posting this little photo essay of sidewalk art I discovered on my way to work the other day.


chemicals from factory leak into bay


water turns green and bubbles


jogger wets headband in water to cool off


jogger's hair smokes and falls out


mass hysteria ensues


city drains entire bay and has it paved

Labels: 1000 words, shout out

* posted by me at 10:06 AM

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2005-02-21 
 

waking up

Yesterday B came over and hung out with us for the afternoon and into the evening. I realized that we haven't just hung out for almost four years now. We spent an afternoon together about two years ago, but I was overly concerned with her psychological welfare at that particular point in time. We didn't speak very often on the phone, and I had allowed the different social situation she chose to live in become suspect in my mind. In retrospect, I believe jealousy and self centeredness got the best of me. (Annoying how clear hindsight can be.)

I even managed to imagine a slight conspiracy against myself by other members of her family. Were they listnening in to our conversations? Was she getting my messages?

Sorry Bun, I've been a dork.

I also realize that the not-so-nice first meeting she and G had four years ago was something I'd been fretting about. It hurt me that my future husband and best friend might never get along, but instead of confronting that emotion and arranging a followup meeting, I just buried it deep down inside and allowed the physical distance between B and myself to be a good excuse for ignoring that particular elephant in the living room.

You heard it hear first folks, sometimes I can be a big idiot. We all had a great time this weekend and look forward to seeing her a few more times while she's in town.

thanks to D for snapping some candids...especially this one

Labels: 1000 words, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 7:30 PM

(1) comments



2005-02-19 
 

refreshing evening

Went to B's for her dinner party last night. My trepidation from the preceding days was unfounded. After just a few minutes in the house, I remembered who I needed to be with this particular group of people. Honesty with relative strangers is refreshing and an easy habit to fall back into, even after four years of "normal" social relations with the world at large. Being appreciated for attentiveness also came as a pleasant change from what I'm used to in the world outside. It's a space where I feel almost totally secure to open myself up: to fully recognize the energies around me and truly read them, instead of having to put up blockers to keep myself insulated from random anger.

If it weren't for some of the underlying philosophies of the group, I'd be tempted to join my sister spirit on the path she's chosen to walk down. Unfortunately, their viewpoints on gay male sensuality and sexuality differ too fundamentally from my own for more than the occasional visit into their country to say hello. For those of you living the straight life and looking for more intense conversation and connection with your partner, I'd recommend checking them out...but be ready to open your mind.

My favorite part of the evening? Sitting staring into B's eyes while holding her hands and sharing each other's presence.

Labels: dose of mikey

* posted by me at 4:53 PM

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2005-02-17 
 

in the moo

Tonight we're having some leftover sirloin steak. While Rainbow Grocery has become our one stop shop for most culinary needs, good meat had been a hard to find item. Then G found Guerra Quality Meats over on Taraval

So good, and highly recommended for anyone able to get themselves over there. fulfills most of our meat-eating needs.

In other carnivorous news: Tomorrow I'll be dining with Bun for the first time in years. While I confess to a slight trepidation because of the new folks I'll be meeting, I'm truly looking forward to partaking of a home grown ham. They raised it on their farm up north, and I'm honored to have been invited to this particular feast.

In honor of the occasion, I'm sharing our psychedelic pig with the world.

Labels: 1000 words, dose of mikey, g, random review, san francisco

* posted by me at 9:28 PM

(0) comments


 

cell phone fortune

I signed up for cell phone alerts recently. Partly because it sounded like a nifty idea, but mostly because they're free. I chose weather and horoscopes. The weather's quite boring. Occasionally I'll hit the wrong key and get yesterday's weather by mistake. No worries, it's all the same.

The horoscope, which I thought I'd be canceling within a day or two, turns out to be a bit of a perk. Sort of a horoscope crossed with the cell phone version of a fortune cookie. F'rinstance:

Don't pressure yourself into being "normal." Follow your instincts.
or
Look for answers in new places instead of the same old ones.
and my favorite so far...
The thing that scares you most is the thing you need to pursue.

The really odd thing is that I think the universe is telling me something. I've been feeling a crux point coming up. Gotta be ready for it....it's bad form to swerve for the exit at the last minute. Leaves you with your heart beating too fast, and the other motorists all sending anger in your general direction.

Ugh. Is there a good return policy for metaphors? Lately, I don't seem to be getting my money's worth.

Labels: dose of mikey

* posted by me at 1:13 AM

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2005-02-16 
 

beam me up

Bun's back in town! Got a call from her yesterday and she's hoping to have me/us over for a dinner soon in the temporary digs she's sharing with other members of her family. Not sure how long she'll be around, but excited to see her for a good old catch up.

I'm still selfish enough to want her all to myself, but willing to own that emotion so I can enjoy her as part of a bigger group now. Still, that's not saying I won't try to get her to myself for at least a moment or two. After all, it's been over two years since we last met in person.

Insert appropriate wavy lines here. Then picture a montage of short clips featuring B and myself in a mulitude of merry situations. Ready? CUE VOICEOVER:

For most of my first years in SF, B and I were constant companions, spending most of our free time with each other. Shortly after I met G she made the jump up North to move in with her new family and our closeness swam down to a deeper level. It breached the surface whenever we spoke on the phone, but drifted down again after goodbyes were said.

OK, the friendship/whale metaphor turns out much weirder than I intended, but it comes closest to expressing thoughts that haven't quite formed fully in my mind.

We always travelled different paths, yet they constantly paralleled one another. Often so closely that the path become as one. At other times, further apart, but never placing us out of site from one another. I sometimes wonder if we met before this life and planned our individual "nesting" phases to coincide. I wonder if we knew about the median strip that would spring up between us, blinding us to each others experiences save for the occasional glimpse when we crossed bridges.

OK, friendship as parallel path not as odd, but too cliche and transition to highway image rather harsh. Will return to these thoughts at a later date.

END VOICEOVER

In other, non-metaphoric news: The comments are finally working for ALL users and not just folks with blogger accounts. Yay!

Labels: blogging, memory lane, shout out

* posted by me at 12:11 AM

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2005-02-14 
 

recess

A mighty hangover and a Hallmark holiday have combined forces to temporarily interrupt this blog. We will return to our regularly scheduled randomness shortly. Thank you for your patience.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 2:52 AM

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2005-02-11 
 

geometric

G and I finally replaced the funky plastic showercurtain from Urban Outfitters with a new (and very grown up) FABRIC showercurtain with a pleasing pattern.



Elephant and Monkey are also pleased to be residing in such a grown up room.

Labels: 1000 words, dose of mikey, g

* posted by me at 1:29 AM

(1) comments



2005-02-09 
 

DOUBLE FEATURE: triple giggle and pimp pine pictures

Click through to GAWKER to see an article that made me giggle thrice. (Thanks to Michael for pointing out this particular story.)

1. I like the idea of myself as a "sartorially-challenged, shut-in computer nerd with a sicko crush on Scarlett Johansson and the skinny guy from The O.C"

2. Directly below the article they have advertising banners flicker in and out from various national brands and the following plug: "Gawker Media - Gawker and seven other weblog titles - brings a young and influential audience to brand advertisers." That's either sadly hypocritical or deliciously ironic, but it's funny either way. (I vote for the latter. I've always liked Gawker...and several of their seven other weblog titles.)

3. Well, you'll have to guess at the third giggle, but if you know me it'll be pretty obvious once you read the article.

In other news: I spent most of last night organizing two years worth of photos. There were a lot of pictures to go through, but the time consuming part of the task became remembering all the good times and retelling stories with G. This one in particular had a lot of good associations with it.



Imagine my surprise when a closer examination revealed a frolicking Sponge Bob sprinkling his special brand of love around my old stomping grounds.



Belated thanks to Dude and Dudette for the doubles you gave us at the last barn bash. Can't wait for the next one!

Labels: 1000 words, blogging, dose of mikey, g, linkage, looking eastward, sharketing, shout out

* posted by me at 10:17 PM

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2005-02-08 
 

keep on dancing

Just stumbled upon Matt's site and need to share. The blog is interesting on it's own, with updates from all around the world, but I highly recommend checking out his dancing movie after reading a few of the entries. It blew me away.

Labels: blogging, linkage, random review

* posted by me at 11:04 PM

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2005-02-07 
 

not to put too fine a point on it

There's something about Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might be Giants that always puts a smile on my face. (Clicking on the song title should stream the song to your computer. Dialup folks: it's 2MBs, but you can always click the back page button if your connection can't keep up with the stream.)

Listening to it on the walk home tonight, I found myself dalking up Castro street.

Dalking: A combination of dancing and walking that, while fun, results in a rather dorkish appearance. Also see: Wancing

Birdhouse often causes me to dalk. Maybe it's the beat, the lyrics, the memories it inspires, or a combination of them all; but I start humming and my feet start tapping. It might look funny, but it's a mighty nice way to end my commute. Speaking of commute...

Overheard on Muni today:
Today we've secretly replaced his blood with mountain-grown Folgers Crystals, lets see if he notices the difference!

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage, random review, seen and heard

* posted by me at 10:59 PM

(1) comments


 

technogeek confession

I confess, I have spent the past 14 hours in front of the computer. I spurned the sun that shone outside and the warm breezes in favor of the glow of my monitor and the soft whir of the hard drive. And yes, it is also true that I was glued - nay - MELDED with the machine for well over nine hours yesterday.

Tweaks have been made though. Oh yes they have! Some invisible to the average reader, but I know they're there. Archives updated. Code finessed and refined. Scanners configured and pictures uploaded. Even new entries in the adventure pages. Many entries and so much code to puzzle through! JPEGS and Tables and Fonts, oh my!

Mmmm...yes. I'd say it's bed time now.

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey

* posted by me at 2:27 AM

(0) comments



2005-02-06 
 

ernie and bert are at it again

Forget about our dear president and his recent comments about the Defense of Marriage Act. I want to talk about what's really important: Cartoons!

Been a lot of hubub lately about what a pervert Sponge Bob must be for holding the hand of another boy. And that Postcard From Buster show on PBS that just got delayed by my old hometown station due to the utterly shocking content of a family with two mothers. What is the world coming to?

I hearby charge all parents of young children to begin teaching them how to throw stones at anyone different from them. Different is BAD. In fact, maybe they better start by using me for target practice. After all, I'm one of those evil gays out to disturb everyone with my mere existance.

Rocks aren't the worst thing you can do to me though. The worst thing you can do is to shove me back into the closet by not acknowledging my right to live, and that's what seems to be happening lately. I urge parents to see past the social stereotyping and not hide gays and lesbians from their children. We're discriminated against because certain people see only the sexual aspect of our lives, and not the genuine love that exists and is the mainstay of most longterm relationships I've known. That's true for both heteros and homos I've known. In fact, if we turned the same single focus on hetero stories, Romeo and Juliet would be banned as pure perversion and the family friendly sitcom would be seen as anything but. (All those cutesy couples, living together in the open like that...horrifying! I mean Rob comes home and KISSES Laura every night. Children don't need to see that.)

Looking at things in that light makes it almost funny, but I don't feel like laughing anymore.

Labels: rant

* posted by me at 12:41 AM

(1) comments



2005-02-04 
 

ups and downs

I left work today in a bit of a funk. Plugged into music for the commute home and went from funk to a rather pleasant dazed feeling. Felt a bit like I'd gotten stoned, but without the drymouth and munchies.

Got home and took a brief nap before walking to my doctor's appointment.

On the way I saw an orange tree...of sorts.



Read an interesting piece in a back issue of the New Yorker: Ice, by Thomas McGuane.

The doctor kept getting called out of the examining room to discuss a patient he'd just admitted to the hospital for some scary brain problem. I stared at the wall.



He's the first doctor I've felt comfortable with in a long time, but my blood pressure was still a little high, and the interview process to record my medical history brought me down again as I was reminded that I need to quit smoking, eat less, excercise more, etc. (That etcetera covers quite a bit that I'd rather keep to myself right now.)

Now I'm home again. Posting these pictures and telling a little story of my day perked me up a bit, but I'm still haunted by the theme from Growing Pains.

Show me that smile again, (Oh, show me that smile)
Don't waste another minute on your cryin',
We're nowhere near the end (We're nowhere near)
The best is ready to begin.

Labels: 1000 words, dose of mikey, medical mystery, memory lane, reading

* posted by me at 5:24 PM

(1) comments



2005-02-02 
 

love and other strange drugs

Three years ago on Groundhog's Day, I started this blog. I like to think that it's coming along nicely. No big entry today, but there'll be some behind the scenes work happening.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 9:35 PM

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