why i love sf..

I went out dancing tonite… a fabulous multi-cultural, religious chillout dj. When i reached a point of exhaustion, i treked to the 24 divis busstop to trek home. A cab pulled up, and the driver offered me a ride. I waved him on, saying that i only had my dollar (the only thing left from my adventure, enough to get home). He told me to get in, that it was slow and he was bored, that no one was out tonite. He was from Tunesia, came to the US to study architecture. Studied English for a year, was accepted into Berkeley when 9/11 happened and he was no longer allowed to go. I asked him if it was hard to be in the US these days. He told me that the only trouble living in SF is dealing with the government.. how he has to keep reporting to the FBI and other organizations, how exhausting it is. We reached my home… i tried to offer my dollar but he wouldn’t take it. I love my city… i fear my government.

boycott brand america

From Adbusters:

Because I am one of the millions of people against the war;
And because America has made it clear that it won’t listen to world opinion;
And because the symbols of America are its corporation and their brands;
I hereby pledge to boycott Brand America, from the moment the war begins and to the best of my ability until the empire learns to listen. [Sign here]

friendster

When i first signed up with Friendster, it was fairly small and i didn’t know anyone on it. Since then, thanks to so many crazy blogs, it has blossomed into this intense social network that fascinates me on every personal and research level.

Of course, i look at it and the first question that comes to mind is whether or not folks who are high self-monitors will feel comfortable using it. Your friends are all equally accessible to anyone that you are friends with (or are friends with them recursively). What does this mean for the classic gay man who is closeted at work? Would he have two different profiles? Would he not accept friendships from folks from one community?

evolving

Not surprisingly, i’m pretty anti-war. In fact, i’m utterly horrified by it. All the same, every time i show up to a protest or participate in the mass gatherings of anti-war folks, i find myself so disenchanted by the far left. I realize that we all have different reasons for being against the war, but i despise crowds and really can’t stand having folks in my face about every cause that the left supports simply because people are out to be anti-war. In fact, i can’t cope with showing up to a protest and being yelled at… it doesn’t help me feel like a part of a coalition or otherwise build up the strength to help me fight the system. It turns me off, and i tend to go shopping.

Thankfully, a friend of mine realized that many of her friends were uninformed, avoiding or otherwise disenchanted so she brought together a large group of friends to start talking issues. This is great because it is truly allowing me to start getting involved again, because i feel like i have a purpose and a way to help. As one of the resident geeks, i’ve set up a new blog for all of our random listserv babbles and links

san diego zoo

The San Diego Zoo is sooooo cool. I really want to curl up with a panda bear. And oh my goodness are giraffes elegant and beautiful. We wandered around the zoo all day, staring at animals and then people like they were yet another species of animals to observe… only they were wearing American flag t-shirts and other preppy Southern California wears. It was quite a trip. Plus, we did sun salutations on the beach every night. Ahh… so good. Of course, San Diego was *weird*