aids walk san francisco

christien and i participated in the san francisco aids walk this year, joining my coworkers in the cnet networks team.

the walk began at 10:30 am and we joined the very crowded starting line.

the weather was dreary and foggy and damp. but that didn't stop thousands of people from walking the cause cheerily.

and along the way many things kept us entertained and motivated...

aids memorial quilts...

a giant purple head...

and belly dancers.


imagine a happy steel drum player playing tequilla, and about 500 people shouting, "tequilla!" at the same time...

kids romping around...

and curious beagles!!


there were a lot of bay area companies supporting the cause...

cool t-shirts...

and the sisters of perpetual indulgence awaiting your fabulous arrival at the finish line.


cecille and mary manning the cnet networks booth and lunch boxes were a welcome site after a 6 mile walk.

and christien and i felt proud for having participated in such a worthy and important cause.


this year's aids walk benefited from over 25,000 participants who raised $4.5 million. i'm glad we did something to help make a difference.

there are people out there in need. find a way to contribute. no matter how big or small.

politically correct?

while slurping a vanilla malt with christien on a summeresque day at johnny rockets in the marina, i noticed this huge, framed poster above our table.

politically correct? at first glance, yes. you've got an all-american baseball team, the tigers, about to share a chocolate shake. the kids are all smiles and good-looking. caucasian, asian, african-american, and hispanic are all represented. they're sharing in the good times. but take another look...

all kids' ethnic features have been toned down to an all-american look. if you painted their hair over with blonde they'd all look white. the female, although tom boyish, is portrayed with distinctly feminine hair and features. and what the heck is with the white dominant male pouring the shake to be rationed down to his minority friends?!

ok, i'm not really that pro-affirmative action or political, but this poster paints an oxymoron. blame it on my art history background. other than that, i found it hilarious.

one rincon hill

look at this picture and tell me what sticks out.

if you guessed the ugly building sticking out like a sore thumb or a middle finger in the air on the right side of the picture, you guessed it.

while i'm a huge fan of architecture and design, and a proponent of development and economy, the rising of one rincon hill heeds no attention to san francisco's beautiful skyline. it soars above anything around it and is so far removed from the rest of the skyline. glass treatment has been designed to emphasize a false perspective, making the building look smaller (read less floors) than it actually is (55 stories at 741 feet). but you compare it to the rest of the skyline and it looks a little ridiculous and, well, a sore thumb. the transamerica pyramid is actually taller than one rincon hill by 112 feet but is more "at home" with its fellow high-rise brethern in the financial district.

i realize a second tower will rise next to it by 2009 and that the whole south beach, rincon hill area will slowly become high-rise central - a second downtown - but i think this could've been done better with a respect to historical architecture and skyline. yes, i like modernization, but one rincon hill just doesn't do it for me.

this site has a good summary of the new development. any guesses as to how much a junior 1-bed condo will cost in this monster?

veo's birthday!

you know you're having a good time when you get home from a party and realize you've taken over 220 pictures with your digital camera.

welcome to butter.

a "white trash" bar located in soma on 11th between folsom and harrison.

and the infamous site of veo's 30-somethin' birthday.


imagine a long island iced tea with strawberry soda instead of coke...

$4 spaghetti-o's...

oh, and jello shots.

yeah, you get the picture...

there was dancing...

laughter...

and prom pics...


there was singing and paper-wrapped 40's...

smooching and posing...

and good times all around...


there were big grins...

myspace photo opps...

and ameet holding off the paparazzi...


there were also smooshes...

squooshes...

and group hugs...


after soaking up the ghetto drinks with jalapeno poppers and chili cheese tater tots...

veo's good friends all bid her happy birthday.

hope you had a fantastic nite veo! i know we all sure did.

happy birthday sweetie!

happy sf pride 2007!

this year i missed most of the pride parade. last year there were more exciting floats rolling by. not that there weren't good floats this year, it's just that we didn't have the patience.

so we decided to head straight to the civic center instead for the festivities...

where christien joined in on the festivities.

and veo and tony met us, beers in hand to behold the sights to see.

some people wore things all too wrong...

while others wore not enough...

but the overall atmosphere was happy and gay.

and towards the end of the hot afternoon we were all sportin' the spirit.

the evening brought packed, sweaty dancing at badlands.

and at&t cowboy gogo dancers...

and here. and here.

happy pride people. it was fun. don't discriminate.

unexpected...

altoids.

they come in may shapes, sizes...

and flavors.


how do you protect and carry your digital camera?