oh androgyny...

Forget a "fine line" - there is a gaping chasm of a difference between simply dressing like a dude and embracing the effortlessly sexy style of androgynous chic. Women who successfully execute this look simultaneously exude staggering confidence and inexplicable sexual magnetism. So hot. Androgynous chic icons, such as Patti Smith, Kate Moennig (The L Word's resident androgynous hottie, Shane McCutcheon), and Kate Lanphear (senior editor of Elle magazine), ooze cool intrigue. Maybe it's the juxtaposition of rigidly tailored menswear against the soft curves of a woman's body, maybe it's the "fuck you, social norms" attitude, the feminine hijacking the masculine...whatever the reason, it's mysterious and sultry as hell.

I mean, sure, Charlize Theron is gorgeous in a gauzy designer gown, but put her in a lean satin tux and you've not only got the cool charm and wit of James Bond, but all the sizzling allure of a Bond girl as well.

Effortlessly cool, devastatingly sexy, and fantastically enigmatic…androgynous chic is one look I can’t take my eyes off.

Patti Smith

Kate Moennig

Kate Lanphear

a slipperly slope

so check this out:
A prop8 excecutive committee sent a letter to a San Diego business leader (who was against prop8) requesting, not only funding, but the revocation of his "support for equality" as well.

Click HERE to read the letter...the audacity and delusion of the prop8 proponents is just incredible.

it's a dangerously slippery slope and passing prop8 would be like lubing it up for the easier abolishment of other civil rights.


we have to defeat prop8. we just have to.

:::NO on PROP 8:::

PROP 8:::FACT vs. FICTION

FICTION: Prop 8 doesn’t discriminate against gays

FACT: Prop 8 eliminates the rights for same-sex couples to marry. It would deny equal protections and write discrimination against one group of people—lesbian and gay people—into our state constitution.

FICTION: Teaching children about same-sex marriage will happen unless we pass Prop 8.

FACT: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it, and the Yes on 8 campaign knows they are lying.

FICTION: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.

FACT: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”

EDUCATE yourself. Understand the TRUTH. VOTE NO on H8TE.

EVERYONE deserves a HAPPILY EVER AFTER...

TO LEARN MORE or GET INVOLVED, check out: www.NOonPROP8.com

Walk for Bluegrass

10.4.08
Hardly.Strictly.Bluegrass Festival @ Golden Gate Park
Admission: Free (just how i like it.)

After completing my first solo Macy's event, I reward myself with something that always makes me smile...free music. Now, I'm not a big bluegrass fan but I decide to head out to Golden Gate Park to check out the Hardly.Strictly.Bluegrass Festival because 1) it's free and 2) i've never really given bluegrass a chance, and what better way to educate myself on the genre than to completey envelope myself in it? I decide to walk it because google maps informs me the 4 mi. distance should only take about an hour (which is only 20 min. more than taking a bus) and its a gorgeous day, so i'm actually looking forward to walking. Yeah, thanks google for failing to mention its a steep incline both ways and its actually a 6 mi. hike, not 4.

here's the route i took:

So my pleasant walk becomes a half marathon. splendid. but, worth it. Several main stages are nestled in tree-lined meadows. The main walkway is lined with local bluegrass bands-elderly couples with a washboard and fiddle, teenagers with spoons...

2 bands, however, make my ridiculous journey worth it. The first, an SF street band called The Ferocious Few, rock out their little sidewalk corner. here's a little of taste:


as for the second band, the Global Drum Project, well...let me paint this picture for you: the stage is illuminated by hundreds, thousands of xmas lights, with the sun setting behind it, casting a rosy haze over the entire meadow. drum beats pound the air-african, indian, latin infusions with a distinct bluegrass sound. kettle corn. it's incredible. maybe it's the exhaustion, maybe it's the sugar rush-either way, it was an experience that'll resonate with me for a very long time. consider me a strictly bluegrass festival fan. who knew?

PS: global drum project is sick.

ink for the arts

10.2.08
Matcha: Japanese Tattoo Exhibition. Asian Art Museum.
Admission: $5

Tattoos fascinate me. From the early design stage, a blurry half-formed figment of an average joe’s imagination, to an oozing scab of a masterpiece (or not so much a masterpiece, sometimes) forever embedded in your skin, every element of the process has me transfixed. So, when I read that the Asian Art Museum was having a live Japanese tattoo exhibition, complete with live demonstrations and FREE green tea tasting, I was pretty much sold.

First, I’d like to say - Well done, Asian Art Museum. Way to strategically blend the innate curiosity of human nature with the universal appeal of taboo art to bring people together, to build bridges. The hallways are bustling with all sorts of people, a fine heterogeneous mixture of life experience - old, young, hipsters with their white v-necks and plaid, studded, leather-clad bikers, suits. Techno, Asian-inspired fusions, courtesy of DJ Saiman, permeate the air for our audio pleasure. The night’s stars are tattoo artist and author, Takahiro “ Horitaka” Kitamura and a handful of artists from his San Jose shop, State of Grace Tattoo. The artists are set up on the ground floor, roped off from the 80-some people eagerly watching dragons and koi come to life. While most of the artists use a tattoo gun, a single artist, Horitomo, is working on a full sleeve using the traditional Japanese hand tattooing method, where he taps the ink into the skin. I know, amazing.

So, aside from the fact that I felt like I had walked in on something intimate, like these artists were on display (almost zoo-like, really), the tattoos were, undoubtedly, true works of art and it was a pleasure to witness their creation. Damn, I’m ready to get inked again...