Halloween 2007 - West Hollywood Carnival

David, Andy, Daniel, Rodney (in the second picture below) and I joined about 500,000 people for the annual West Hollywood Halloween Carnival. The naughty nurses were there to make sure everyone's health care needs were being taken care of... well, the men's health care needs.

Our photo with Juan's entire gang also! It took us 2 hours to talk about one-third of the boulevard... we were stopped so much for pictures. We did find a nice surgeon to take a picture with. We love it when the straight men are such good sports about it all and just have fun with the night.

There were many other public civil servants there that night, so we wanted to take some pictures with some the fire and sheriff officers.

End of the night.... Andy had to take a little break.

When I got to work the next morning, several of the employees said they saw me on television. The news stations are still running the video from three years ago when we were the hurricanes. Gotta love it.

West Hollywood Halloween Carvinal

West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnival
Los Angeles

KNOW: Twenty-five years ago, WeHo boys spilled out of bars, blocking Santa Monica Boulevard and stopping traffic in a spontaneous gathering of drag, costumes and bare bodies. It's evolved from one gay evening to an event swarming with people who come hundreds of miles from all around Southern California. Creative costumes used to outnumber spectators; now there are more people not in costume. Santa Monica Boulevard closes at 3 p.m. and vendors, radio stations, DJs, performers and hundreds of thousands of onlookers descend.

WHERE: The heart of West Hollywood; Santa Monica Boulevard between Sweetzer and Doheny; Robertson Boulevard between Santa Monica and Melrose Avenue and in many bars and restaurants along the way. Gay bars are packed; dancing and partying goes on until the early hours.

DRESS: Los Angeles' galaxy of entertainment-industry egos makes WeHo's Halloween super-competitive, often courtesy of real studio costumes. Picture 25 red, white and blue debutantes or a phalanx of gladiators plunging down Santa Monica Boulevard. Tacky, clever and the more over-the-top the better is the L.A. mantra. Mardi Gras-type garb, drag, military and minimal all star.

PSST: To get the most out of the party, you need to dress up. Walk the boulevard, popping in and out of bars along the way (beware the prohibitive club cover charges). Allow extra time to make your way along the boulevard -- depending how good you look, it can take up to an hour per block, with suburbanites stopping you every five feet for photos.

Halloween 2007 - More from Oil Can Harry's

Andy and I arrive at Oil Can's.

Time for our stage performance. Jorge does a quick costume change and Andy and I are heading up to the stage.

Our quick performance to "I Will Survive" with some of the dance moves taken from the movie.

There is a reason we call him "Jor-ge"

Halloween 2007 - Getting Ready for Oil Can Harry's

We were going for "over the top drag queen" for our make up. We got ready at Jorge's house and then drove over to Oil Can's on Thursday (before Halloween).

We are ready to go... I can't put my hair on until we get there because it won't fit in the car.



Love it!

Halloween - For Those That Think We Bought Our Costumes

So, some people seem to think that we bought our costumes, rather than made them... okay, here is the "proof" that we made our costumes from scratch.

I worked on my flower headpiece first... showing it off to Jorge and Andy during our first rehearsal for our stage performance. Andy tried his headpiece on... before the flowers were added (just cap and chicken wire).

At our second rehearsal, we tried on the suits so Andy could get the measurements for sowing the legs. Andy likes the back of his bathing suit.

The final fitting at Andy's house, after the legs are attached. I look them and glued the feet to the legs. All in all, it was an involved process... and a lot of fun.

Why is she leaving... she gets it.

“I don't think anything will change until Americans revolt and get it into their heads that they need to be informed voters instead of just listening to the paid political ads.”

DEBORAH PRYCE, a United States representative from Ohio, who is retiring

Obama supporter: 'God delivered me from homosexuality'

The controversial Gospel singer at the center of a gay and lesbian backlash against Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign struck back at his critics Sunday night, saying that he has been "vilified" and declaring that "God delivered me from homosexuality."

Rev. Donnie McClurkin, who headlined the final installment of the Obama campaign's "Embrace the Change" Gospel concert series, did not comment on the controversy until the just before the concert's finish, when he told the crowd of about 2,500 African-Americans: "I'm going to say something that's going to get me in trouble."

"They accuse me of being anti-gay and a bigot," McClurkin said. "We don't believe in discrimination. We don't believe in hatred, and if you do you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's the whole premise of God. That's the whole premise of Christ is love, love, love. But there is a side of Christ that deals in judgment, and all sin is against God."

McClurkin has said that homosexuality is a choice and that he overcame homosexual desires through prayer, comments that drew fire from gay and lesbian activists and caught the Obama campaign, which has been using faith to reach out to African-American voters, off guard.

"Don't call me a bigot or anti-gay, when I have been touched by the same feelings," McClurkin went on. "When I have suffered with the same feelings. Don't call me a homophobe, when I love everybody … Don't tell me that I stand up and I say vile words against the gay community because I don't. I don't speak against the homosexual. I tell you that God delivered me from homosexuality."

Another Republican In Gay Sex Scandal!

Details are beginning to emerge about an alleged blackmail attempt against a married Washington state representative.

Police unsealed a search warrant Tuesday, making it available for the first time to the media, showing that Rep. Richard Curtis (R) went to police alleging he was being blackmailed by a man he had picked up for sex. The warrant says that Curtis met the man at a Spokane adult video store and brought him back to his hotel for sex.

The warrant says that following sex with the man Curtis fell asleep. When he awoke his wallet was missing. The warrant claims that later the man contacted Curtis and said he would return the wallet for $1000.

Curtis claimed he had only $200 and left the money in an envelope at the front desk of the hotel for the man to pick up. The man is later alleged to have called Curtis again demanding an additional $800 or he would go to Curtis' wife. Curtis then went to police.

Named in the warrant as the man who Curtis had met is Cody Castagna.

Police say Catagna has a different version of events. Officers tell KXLY that Castagna claimed that Curtis had met him at the Hollywood Erotic Boutique and offered him $1,000 in exchange for sex. Following sex, Castagna claims, Curtis told him he did not have the $1000 on him and gave his wallet as collateral.When Curtis failed to pay up the following day, Castagna admits to threatening to expose Curtis to his wife.What Castagna did not know was Curtis had contacted police following the first call by Castagna and a police officer was in the room when the second call came in.

The details Curtis provided to police and outlined in the warrant is in stark contrast to an interview he gave Monday to the Columbian newspaper in his home district. The paper began to investigate Curtis as details of the alleged blackmail began to leak out.

"I did not solicit sex. I was trying to help somebody out," the conservative Republican lawmaker told the Columbian on Monday. "I am not gay. I have not had sex with a guy."

[How many married, straight republicans are going to get into sex scandals? Don’t the republicans claim to have all the good morals?]

Why is she leaving... she gets it.

Halloween - Oil Can Harry's

Andy and I as Mitzi and Felicia from "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." This was our first outfit. We later changed and Andy, Jorge, and I did a little number to "I Will Survive" from the movie.

Andy and I with Rodney.

Nelson and Juan looked very cute as boy scouts. Yep, that's Nick on the side. ;-)

Bear Claims To Have Had Sex With Toe-Tappin' Larry!

This is David Phillips and he claims to have had sex with Larry Craig! You know? That toe-tappin' senator from Idaho who got busted in the men's room. [I knew it wouldn’t be long before this happened… and David is only the first. I bet there will be more.]

David met Larry 20 years ago at this bar called La Cage aux Follies on Capitol Hill.

David said, “When we got to what reminded me of a rarely used guest room, he stripped me down, and the man’s hands and mouth were all over me. He kept his pants on, though, while laying me back on the bed to suck my ****. Then, he stripped naked and asked me to suck him. I complied for a while, then he disappeared and returned with lube and a condom to **** me with. It was a clumsy and unremarkable ****, except that I wasn’t clean and he was frantic about not getting my **** on anything. Still, he blew his load, ripped the dirty condom off and ordered me to get dressed without wiping myself. He hurried me to the back door, again ranting, ‘You were never here. You don’t know me. Right?’”

Larry then practically pushed David out the door, handed him $20 and said, "Remember, I can buy and sell your ass ten thousand times over. You were never here. Don’t try to come back here. You don’t know me."

FEMA FAKES WILDFIRE PRESS CONFERENCE

The Federal Emergency Management Agency apoligized for a hastily organized news conference on the California wildfires in which they had their own staffers pose as reporters because no actual news media was on the scene at the time. FEMA also posed questions to which they provided self-congratulatory answers.

"The agency had called the briefing with about 15 minutes notice as federal officials headed for southern California to oversee and assist in firefighting and rescue efforts. Reporters were also given a telephone number to listen in on but could not ask questions. But with no reporters on hand and an agency video camera providing a feed carried live by some television networks, FEMA press employees posed the questions for Johnson that included: 'Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?'

According to Friday's [Washington Post] account, which Walker confirmed, Johnson replied that he was 'very happy with FEMA's response so far.' He also said the agency had the benefit of 'good leadership' and other factors, 'none of which were present at Katrina.'

Chertoff was head of the Homeland Security Department during Katrina."
Chertoff's office called the handling of the news conference "inexcusable and offensive."

Catholic Church condom stance blamed for HIV spike

The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms, a U.N. official said on Monday.

Some 1.7 million people across Latin America are infected with the HIV virus or full-blown AIDS, and the epidemic is spreading swiftly with up to 410,000 new cases in 2006, up from as many as 320,000 new cases in 2004, according the UN AIDS program, UNAIDS. "In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The Catholic Church, which holds sway in Latin America despite the rise in evangelical churches, opposes all forms of contraception and instead promotes abstinence as a way to avoid spreading AIDS. "The fact young people start to be sexually active between 15 and 19 without sex education contributes to the spreading of the virus, as well as the fact that the evidence shows abstinence is not working," Stella told Reuters.

Latin America is home to nearly half the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, but the Church's position on premarital sex and contraception often clashes with modern values. Brazil, the region's largest Catholic nation, regularly distributes free condoms to try and bring down HIV infection rates.

Floating toxic plastic garbage island twice the size of Texas

"A little-known island continent of floating toxic plastic garbage, TWICE the size of Texas, is growing in the pacific between California and Hawaii. Officially known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, until it can be taxed, U.S. officials will continue to ignore it. I heard of it once many years ago, but it apparently has been growing tenfold each decade since the 1950's, and now consists of 80% plastic. It has also been called Gilligan's Island, from the trashy TV sitcom that won't go away."

The enormous stew of trash - which consists of 80 percent plastics and weighs some 3.5 million tons, say oceanographers - floats where few people ever travel, in a no-man's land between San Francisco and Hawaii.

The patch has been growing, along with ocean debris worldwide, tenfold every decade since the 1950s, said Chris Parry, public education program manager with the California Coastal Commission in San Francisco.

Southern California Fires

I went out yesterday from work around noon to get some lunch and the sky was a odd shade of orange and there was ash on my car. The fires are in San Diego county and then sort of encircle Los Angeles. Fortunately, they are not on the mountains near my house.

We normally have beautiful sunsets in Los Angeles, but the fires have made some amazing sunsets the past few days.

This is satellite image of some of the fires around Los Angeles. This does not include San Diego. MSNBC has an interesting interactive map of the fires: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21436901/

We did Nelson's birthday at Lake Arrowhead earlier this year... here is a recent photo of the lake. I talked to Sister Solidad yesterday and she said the fire is just 2 miles from their cabin that we stayed at for the weekend.

“It'll go all the way to the ocean before it stops. We might save some stuff, but we can't stop it.”

San Diego Fire Capt. KIRK HUMPHRIES, on the California wildfires that have forced the evacuation of nearly 1 million residents

A REMINDER TO PRAY....

There is a long list of good families whose husbands, wives, fathers and mothers are deploying to Iraq. These men and women deserve our love, our hugs and our prayers.

Four Down

The fourth pound is gone. I don't know if I will have the fifth by tomorrow... maybe. I haven't been able to exercise...

On Saturday, I was coming down from my attic and my foot slipped and went through the window pane on the door. Lots of blood. Andy and Nick were very sweet, came over at 8am, broke into my house, and cleaned up for me while I was at Urgent Care getting stitched up.

I was very lucky - only 5 stitches and a couple of other small cuts on my foot. I was on crutches and today is the first day with a shoe on. So I have been lying around (trying not to eat too much) and not being able to exercise.

Tomorrow is the Halloween contest at Oil Can Harry’s. So I have to be in platform high-heeled knee-high boots. Then we do a costume change for our stage performance, as part of the contest. (As the reigning champions from last year, the standards are high.)

I’ll post pictures of the Halloween contest… and then more of our group outfit on Santa Monica Blvd in WeHo on Halloween.

Madison

Madison, the dog Chris and I adopted in graduate school, passed away yesterday. She was such a sweet dog.

Chris was my first boyfriend and the first person I said “I love you” to. He was also part of the reason I came out – what an interesting time that was in South Carolina.

Here are some highlights from Chris' note to me about Madison:

Brent and I made the decision to put Madison down today. She was 15 1/2 and had a wonderful life full of car rides, treats, and sleeping in her favorite places (up on all the furniture), in addition to all her antics and fun memories living in the Big Easy (including voting). She was fully loved and returned that to us.

We've been in the agonizing decision process for the last four months, and we were with when she died. She was given a sedative first and then the euthanasia, so she went peacefully, fully understanding what joy she brought and how much she was loved. Her ashes will be returned to us (as any outdoor resting place would be totally insulting to her highness, the pretty princess).

Yesterday was a full day, including all her favorites...ham for breakfast, french fries for lunch, and steak for dinner. She got a bath and was full of sweet smelling fluffiness as she passed.

Southern California Fires

“It looked like the end of the world.”

MITCH MENDLER, a San Diego firefighter, on the Southern California fires that have forced the evacuation of 250,000 people

As of this morning, there were 15 fires burning in Southern California: San Diego county, in the mountains, and circling Los Angeles. It is all a bit crazy. The sad news is that some of the recent fires were started purposefully, when firefighters and resources are already stretched thin.

Residents from Stevenson Ranch watch as a sky crane helicopter being used for the fire fighting effort scoops water from the 9th hole at the TPC Valencia golf course in Valencia, Calif.

Smoke rises from the Stevenson Ranch fire north of Los Angeles, in the background.

Smoke billows to the sky above where fires are spreading near houses in Stevenson Ranch, California. Fires today began near the Magic Mountain Parkway which is one of more than a dozen fires that have hit Southern California damaging hundreds of structures and forcing thousands of evacuations. Fire conditions are dangerous this year as a result of the driest season since records began 130 years ago.

As smoke rises from a new wildfire in North San Diego County near Fallbrook, Calif., an enormous cloud of smoke sits over the area in the background.

Smoke rises from a vehicle burned by wildfire driven by powerful winds in the Malibu Hills in Malibu, Calif. Wildfires fanned by fierce desert winds threatened thousands of Southern California homes Monday, as firefighters struggled to combat the blazes that rapidly engulfed the region, killing one and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Smoke rises from the Buckweed Fire, in the Santa Clarita, Calif. area is shown in the foreground, while the Ranch Fire near Piru in Ventura County, Calif. area is shown in the background. Both fires are northwest of Los Angeles.

I am fortunate that the mounts by my house are not involved with the current fires.