I know I know. Long time no post. So sue me. I've never gotten the hang of sharing my life with the masses that much, but I'm trying.
But recently I've been to two concerts that threw my love of and admiration for the enduring pop music of the 80s to the forefront of my life again, and I actually have some media to share that some wil enjoy too. Actually came out alright considering I was recording with my still camera.
The early 80s were a pivitol time in my life. I graduated high school in 83, and I started exploring what gay life North Alabama had to offer (not much) in my junior year. Dealing with that and trying to still be a regular highschooler created a bit of angst in my life, and music helped me deal with that immensely.
I think it was my junior year when my sister came home with a yellow colored album by a band call The B-52s. At first I thought it was a joke band. Then I started really listening and realized it was pop genius. I was a fan from then on, and living where I did I got the oportunity to see them live quite a few times. The perfect party band, and the first time I was really struck by a death of someone from AIDS (when Ricky died after the first two albums). They've recently release their first studio album, Funplex, in something like 15-20 years. It's very recommended!
And then there was Yaz. I discovered them all on my own. The first time I heard the beat of Vince's music and the sound of Alison's voice on "Only You" I was hooooooooked. Laying on the carpeted floor of my small bedroom with the headphones on, listening over and over to both the albums and just BECOMING the music. I was so crushed when they broke up. Never seen them live, hell, they never performed live in the US except once in New York in 82 I think it was.
Flash forward 25 years and Vince and Alison think it's time to complete things, for them and for the fans, so they arrange to tour together for the first, and last, world tour of Yaz. David and I were lucky enough to get to see them here in Oakland at the Paramount Theatre. They were incredible. Performing every song from both albums! I think they were geniuely surprised and very pleased by the audience response. I think it was their first stop in the States. Alison was loving the love washing over them. Vince was his usual stotic self but very much enjoying it too.
It was a great pleasure to be sharing both these events with my man David. Being only 10 months apart in age, we have a lot of the same cultural references and we were very much into some of the same type music.
Below are a few clips I got of those tow bands, plus Cyndi Lauper. Cyndi and the B's I caught at the True Colors concert, then a week later was Yaz. I'm still buzzing from both!
The first clip is the B-52s singing a favorite of mine, "Mesopotamia":
Then "Rock Lobster":
From the new album, "Juliet of the Spirits" (love this song!):
And, of course, the very popular, "Love Shack":
Cyndi Lauper has a new album out too, called "Bring Ya to the Brink". I have to say it's very good and I highly recommend it. Very upbeat, catchy music with a message.
The first video of her below is from that new album, called "Rocking Chair":
The first single from that new album is called "Into the Nightlife" and I caught about half of it in the below clip. I wasn't going to record it at all, but she came out into the audience and sang part of it and that's where I started recording:
And then the classic, "I Drove All Night", which she began with a little bit of "Blue Savannah" by Erasure:
Now on to Yaz. I was much more wary about recording while indoors in the dark, but I got a few that turned out OK.
First up is a snippet of "Goodbye 70s":
Next up is David's favorite (or one of his favorite, who can have a favorite from Yaz?), "In My Room". They brought a soft chair with a pillow for Alison to hug as she sang this...LOVE IT:
And one of my favorites, and probably alot of other folks, "Winter Kills":
And first song of the encore, and their first single "Only You"...listen to the crowding singing along to the entire thing!:
All in all, this has definitely been the Summer of Remembering the 80s and I've loved every minute of it.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Friday, April 14, 2006
Grand Bahama Island
David and I took off for a week in late March for Grand Bahama Island. This is the island with Freeport and the Lucaya Port. I had traded a week of my time share for this stay so it was a super cheap week for us in that sense. We just wanted to go somewhere in the Caribbean, and this place, the Ocean Reef Yacht Club, seemed to be the prettiest that was available. Looks are deceiving. I guess I should have known it was going to be an iffy week when we arrived on the island and the power was off for the entire island. Some places, like the airport, had generators, but mostly it was no energy. Stayed that way for about 4 hours.
The suite was fine, very good in fact. But the ground and pool facilities of the resort left a lot to be desired. We didn't spend much time there. We went to a different beach or took a drive to a different part of the island almost each day. The beaches were beautiful, the water was a lovely turquoise color, and the snorkeling was fun. Overall, we had a very relaxing week and we were away from the neverending rain of the Bay Area. The worst part you might ask? Well, everything was quite expensive. As an example, a bag of chips that would cost $3.49 here in SF, cost around $8.49 there. Fresh anything was hard to get and if you got it you paid out the nose for it. The food on the island was sub par..mediocre at best. Everything was either fried or from a can, or both. When we did get some average good fresh food from a Chinese place on the beach, we paid triple what I would have paid for a much better Chinese meal from down the street. We were dying for a fresh salad by the time the week was done!
So here are a few pictures of our week. Hope you enjoy!
The suite was fine, very good in fact. But the ground and pool facilities of the resort left a lot to be desired. We didn't spend much time there. We went to a different beach or took a drive to a different part of the island almost each day. The beaches were beautiful, the water was a lovely turquoise color, and the snorkeling was fun. Overall, we had a very relaxing week and we were away from the neverending rain of the Bay Area. The worst part you might ask? Well, everything was quite expensive. As an example, a bag of chips that would cost $3.49 here in SF, cost around $8.49 there. Fresh anything was hard to get and if you got it you paid out the nose for it. The food on the island was sub par..mediocre at best. Everything was either fried or from a can, or both. When we did get some average good fresh food from a Chinese place on the beach, we paid triple what I would have paid for a much better Chinese meal from down the street. We were dying for a fresh salad by the time the week was done!
So here are a few pictures of our week. Hope you enjoy!
The Little Yellow Sewing Machine
Our rental car for the week. It's not a joke, it's a Kia! Seriously, I'm only 5'9" and when I drove this the drivers seat back was almost touching the front of the back seat. And I got my first experiece driving on the left hand side of the road. Kind of freaky at first, especially needing to remember to look right first instead of left first when you come to an intersection. But I think I did a pretty fair job of it. Thank God the steering wheel was U.S. standard and on the left of the car, otherwise it would have been a little TOO freaky. We did have one heart pounding scare with this thing. On our first trip to the east side of the island, looking for Gold Rock Beach, about 35 miles from Freeport - in other words, the middle of nowhere - we stop and turn the car off to walk out to this stream/beachy area to see if this place was Gold Rock. We determined it wasn't, so we got back in the car and....NOTHING. The engine doesn't turn over at all. Nada. Zip. No juice. Heart pounding. Stay clam. I got out of the car, popped the hood. Bingo! Battery cable off! Whew! You see, the roads we had been traveling on were a bit pot hole filled and it had apparently been already loose, so the bumpy roads did the rest. Boy, that was scary. Cell phones didn't work there!
Beaches & Sun
So the best part about the week were the many different beaches we visited. We only went to one twice, and that was Paradise Cove. Silver Beach, Gold Rock and High Rock were the other beaches we visted. Paid a short visit to Xanadu Beach one afternoon, but didn't stay long. Did have someone offer us pot and/or cocaine there though. Thought that was kind of funny. The following pictures are from our relaxing experiences on the beach. The week started out a bit cloudy and cool, but by Tuesday and especially Wednesday, it was mostly sunny and 75 degrees. The color of the water was amazing and the sand was the pink of the imfamous Bahama beaches.
Walking and walking and walking...it took you a while to get to deep water on most of the beaches. You could walk out many yards and still only be waist high sometimes. Here David is with our noodles. Every tropical trip we take, we have so far bought some pool noodles to have while we are there. Didn't use them too much this trip. Water may look pretty, but in actuality, it was pretty darn cold where we are in this picture, Gold Rock beach. I, myself, only got in up to my knees here. I preferred the slightly warmer waters of the west side of the island!
These are a few shells that David collected on our second trip to Paradise Cove beach. These type shells are the cause of the famous pink sand beaches of the Bahamas. The pinkish sand seemed to be mostly on the west side of the island. The east side seemed to have sand that was more white, and hardly any shells like this.
Snorkeling, Reefs and Fish
The two days we were at Paradise Cove, we rented snorkel gear and went to see Deadman's Reef just about 100 yards off shore. And at low tide, which we were there for on our first visit, you could have just walked out to the reef. We were kind of disappointed to see that much of the reef, here and probably elsewhere too, was dead or dying. Small patches were trying to live on. But we did manage to see some pretty beautiful things, including lots of purple coral, colorful fish and one sting ray that I chased for a minute or so. We took two disposable underwater cameras with us to see if we could get any good shots. I have to say that I'm impressed with the pictures over all. They do have a bit of a grainy quality, but not too bad.
Last Parting Glance
I loved the cloud formation in this last parting shot of the island. We were glad to be headed home, and desparate for a fresh salad! We did have a nice, relaxing time during our week long stay. But we wouldn't come back. Nice beaches, courteous people (but a bit sassy sometimes), but bad food and outrageous prices for everything but liquor! Plus not a very gay place. We were the only gay people I saw all week. And that's sad.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Mac Trouble - Part Deux
Well, I've definitely learned more about Macs over the past few weeks! I was finally able to get the computer up and running in 'safe mode' so that I could attach my new La Cie d2 160GB Extreme HD (love it!) to the thing and do a complete back up of all files. Whew! Then I was able to get the install discs that came with the computer to finally work, and did a complete re-install of the OS.
Everything was up and running and seemed to be working fine for about a week. Then....boom! crash! Damn thing locked up on me completely during a software update and when I attempted to shut it down and reboot, it never came up again. D.E.A.D. - DEAD!
Thank God we have an Apple store here in SF as David and I was able to take down there, wait about an hour, and hand the thing over and say 'Here. Fix this!'. Although the tech couldn't get it to boot up either (told him so), he made an initial diagnosis that it was a probelm with the logic board. Hmmmm... Hopefully we'll get it back in a week or so. Hopefully.
Everything was up and running and seemed to be working fine for about a week. Then....boom! crash! Damn thing locked up on me completely during a software update and when I attempted to shut it down and reboot, it never came up again. D.E.A.D. - DEAD!
Thank God we have an Apple store here in SF as David and I was able to take down there, wait about an hour, and hand the thing over and say 'Here. Fix this!'. Although the tech couldn't get it to boot up either (told him so), he made an initial diagnosis that it was a probelm with the logic board. Hmmmm... Hopefully we'll get it back in a week or so. Hopefully.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Mac Trouble
Well, our iMac we bought last July had a meltdown two weekends ago. Not sure what the problem is, but I may not be making posts frequently as I can't really do so at work. We do have a PC laptop at home that we are using to get emails etc., but I hate using it for long term computer use.
David spent an immense amount of time with Apple support to try and fix it. It seemed to working OK since this past Sunday (with the exception of the wireless connection), but now it's down again.
It has not given us a bit of trouble since buying it, but now....ARRGH!!!!!
David spent an immense amount of time with Apple support to try and fix it. It seemed to working OK since this past Sunday (with the exception of the wireless connection), but now it's down again.
It has not given us a bit of trouble since buying it, but now....ARRGH!!!!!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
4114A 17th Street
Here's a satelitte photo of the house where David and I live for the moment. We are planning on moving in the near future simply because it is too small for our needs. It is a cute, comfortable apartment and like I said in my very first post below when we first signed the lease, it's all about location with this place. Just take a look at this photo (thanks Google Earth!), and you'll see what I mean. For those of you not familar with the area, the Castro proper center (18th & Castro) is off the picture's lower right corner. Market Street, the main aretry of San Francisco, runs just a block from our house. But as you can see we are well off the street proper. You have to walk between the two building that front 17th to reach our house. And on three sides of our building is nothing but over grown jungle yards and one, directly behind us, that would give any true jungle a run for its money! Even though we are so close to the hustle and bussle of a main street and a busy city district, it is exceptionally quiet where we are. So when we move, it will be hard to find something that is so nature oriented, but I will try.
Some of my friends have asked about this first home that David and I decided to live in together, so below are a very few pictures of the views and interiors of the apartment.
South View
This is the view out the bedrooms directly to the south, looking at the Eureka Valley area of the Castro.
Southeast View
This is the view from the bedrooms of the apt. looking to the southeast. You're seeing the Sanchez Hill and the houses that cover it directly out in the picture.
Southwest View
This is the view out the bedrooms of the apt. to the southwest toward Twin Peaks, although you can only see the left peak of the twins in this photo. This was taken on a beautifully clear blue sky day.
Front Deck
This is the view of the front deck as you look from the upper porch by the front doors. That is our bright orange patio set. Unfortunately the so-called weather proof coating that it had on it was on match for the weather here in The City. It looks much duller now. But in the summer it is wonderful to come out here in the morning with coffee and pastries and read the paper or in the afternoon for a good bake in the sun and reading a book.
Flying Kisses
The mobile hanging in the kitchen next to a sky light is of red resin lips, a gift I gave to David on our first Christmas together.
Kitchen with Stripes
David did the orange and blue striping and it came out wonderfully. Brought a lot of color into the place. We have matching orange and blue things through out the kitchen too as you can see with the blue champagne flutes and the orange vase you see below. Since these pictures we've now got a beautiful blue clear glass bowl with some sea themed etchings on it that sites next to that orange vase in the great light we get in this area of the apt.
Kitchen of Orange and Blue
More of the orange and blue. This is the view of the bathroom to the left and the rest of the apt. to the right.
Kitchen View Into The Jungle
This is our view out the back of the apartment onto the jungle that is behind us. The bird feeder hanging there has given us many hours of bird viewing pleasure (you know a bird picture posting is coming soon!).
Global Warming - Craig Poindexter
This is hanging in the living room. Size is 4 x 6. It's simply gorgeous and I've loved it from the time that I first saw it going through it's birth pangs. I'm friends with the artist and have seen many of his pieces being born, but this was always my favorite. Then that incredible man of mine bought me this for me on our first Christmas in 2004. It depicts San Francisco after the waters have risen from the melted ice caps.
The Living Room
This room has been remodeled greatly since this photo, but I decided to include it anyway. I sold the sofa to a friend and we moved the love seat in hear to open the place up.
Creeping Fog Over Twin Peaks
We do have a great view of the fog rolling in over Twin Peaks. This shot I think has a great fairy (pun intended) tale feel about it.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Christmas 2005 in Palm Springs
Since I didn't have the vacation time to make a trip home for the holiday's in 2005, David and I decided to take a short trip down to Palm Springs to visit my long time friend Jessie Balentine and his partner John McAvoy at there brand new (to them) house. They've purchased this house with the intention of renting it out for weekly rentals. So if you are interested click the links at the bottom of this post.
We started the Christmas weekend (and I have to first say that it was a bit strange spending Christmas in a place where it is sunny and 80 degrees, but I won't knock it!) with a visit to the Living Desert Botanical Garden and Zoo on Christmas Eve. Quite an amazing space, but I did feel sorry for some of the animals that didn't have ENOUGH space. The giraffe's had plenty of space though, and the best animal pictures I took were of them.
Then Christmas Eve night, Jessie & John had a small cocktail party with a few choice friends of theirs and ours. Topped off the weekend with an INCREDIBLE Christmas Day dinner that the two of them threw together and then left on Monday to do the 9 hour drive back to San Francisco (ugh!).
I'd love to spend any holiday in Palm Springs, but Chrstmas time with good friends was the best!!
Jessie & John's rental house:
http://www.psoasis.com/
We started the Christmas weekend (and I have to first say that it was a bit strange spending Christmas in a place where it is sunny and 80 degrees, but I won't knock it!) with a visit to the Living Desert Botanical Garden and Zoo on Christmas Eve. Quite an amazing space, but I did feel sorry for some of the animals that didn't have ENOUGH space. The giraffe's had plenty of space though, and the best animal pictures I took were of them.
Then Christmas Eve night, Jessie & John had a small cocktail party with a few choice friends of theirs and ours. Topped off the weekend with an INCREDIBLE Christmas Day dinner that the two of them threw together and then left on Monday to do the 9 hour drive back to San Francisco (ugh!).
I'd love to spend any holiday in Palm Springs, but Chrstmas time with good friends was the best!!
Jessie & John's rental house:
http://www.psoasis.com/
Me & Jessie
We've known each other since the summer I got out of high school. Wouldn't take anything in the world for his friendship...and his sense of humor! I'm never short of laughter when I'm around Jessie.
My guy beside the antelopes
The antelope is over by the pile of tree trucks. But that's not what this picture is about.
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