ReLATIVITy

A long absence

xerberus — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:08:01 GMT

I'm a horrible blogger! I know Well, what to say? Anyway, I couldn't possibly catch up the entire period since I last wrote, so the next best thing is to write about this weekend, right? Friday night was my friend Christopher's birthday. His fabulous, epic idea was to go bar hopping in "unconvincing drag". Considering that almost all of his friends are good Portlanders with facial hair, being unconvincing was NOT a problem. The evening started (well, for me) at my house. My good friend Tim came over and we got primmed and improper, I in my 100% Goodwill clingy red number and Tim in his frumpy left-over dress from a costume he wore several years ago (he and his partner at the time went as the main characters from Bosom Buddies. Tim also had a wig that seemed to have become the final resting place of several tiny critters. I wore no wig, just a hat. I probably looked like a chemo patient. We then joined the rest of the gang at the Rainbow Room downtown where we stayed for a few before moving on to The Eagle, which was PACKED. I've never been out in any kind of drag before. I was kind of surprised at how people reacted. Many, not at all and some very favorably. In fact, I wasn't feeling particularly attractive in my gender-fuck outfit, but evidently, a few other people felt otherwise. Maybe leg hair under black hose is considered sexy to some! Anyway, the night was crazy as hell. The final comic moment of the evening was that Tim had to take one of the attendees home to his apartment in the burbs. Tim had to pee, so we walked through a couple of long corridors to the apartment at around 3:34 a.m. - not a soul stirring. After Tim had done his thing and we said our goodbyes, we were walking down the halls towards the elevator which was already in motion (TING, goes the bell!). OMG, there we are in some apartment in suburbia in sloppy drag and someone is about to step out of the elevator! We made a mad dash for the stairs in our high heels just in time to avoid what could have been a very awkward encounter. Man, did we laugh about that! The next day, we find out that one of our party members, a tall boy with a full beard, had lost his keys while bar hopping. He ended up spending the night in a flower bed on the street in a rather nice neighborhood wearing a dress, wig and pumps! Oh, what a sight she must have been! In the attached photo, Christopher (the birthday bunny), Jeff, Tim & Steve. There are a few more pics in my album.

Hey You Women! A great way to get rid of your old panties!

xerberus — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:11:47 GMT

Yes, that's what I said! Your panties. I stumbled upon this action on line and thought that it was worthy to pass on. Maybe a bra included to boot would help. Women Send Panties to Myanmar in Protest Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:54 PM EDT us-news, odd-news, panties-for-peace Associated Press BANGKOK — Women in several countries have begun sending their panties to Myanmar embassies in a culturally insulting gesture of protest against the recent brutal crackdown there, a campaign supporter said Friday. "It's an extremely strong message in Burmese and in all Southeast Asian culture," said Liz Hilton, who supports an activist group that launched the "Panties for Peace" drive earlier this week. The group, Lanna Action for Burma, says the country's superstitious generals, especially junta leader Gen. Than Shwe, also believe that contact with women's underwear saps them of power. To widespread international condemnation, the military in Myanmar, also known as Burma, crushed mass anti-regime demonstrations recently and continues to hunt down and imprison those who took part. Hilton said women in Thailand, Australia, Singapore, England and other European countries have started sending or delivering their underwear to Myanmar missions following informal coordination among activist organizations and individuals. "You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese Embassy any day from today. Send early, send often!" the Lanna Action for Burma Web site urges. "So far we have had no response from Burmese officials," Hilton said. ___ On the Net: http://lannaactionforumburma.blogspot.com

VACATION! Leg 2

xerberus — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:16:14 GMT

After Boston, I flew on down to Jacksonville, FL where my friend Dado lives with his partner, Brent. I was with them from the 10th to the 15th. While there, we visited Savannah, GA, which is a fascinating city. Like Boston, it has many monuments to both the Revolutionary and the Civil wars. It's easy to forget that Georgia was one of the original 13 colonies and was, therefore, the site of some battles in the Revolution. Luckily, the city survived that war and the Civil War, maintaining it's old-city southern charm. There are also plenty of statues commemorating Confederate generals and soldiers. It is, indeed, the Old South. In fact, it was very tempting to buy a parasol and walk around the city spouting "I do declair" in my best southern belle accent. After Savannah, the three of us drove down to St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest European-founded city on the continent. The city is full of history, interesting architecture from the 16th century on, and loads of tourist (and the traps they inevitably spawn). We ended up going back to St. Augustine from Jacksonville to spend a second day there, as well. The highlight of the town was the Spanish-founded Castillo San Marco fortress (in the picture). My thanks to all of my gracious hosts on this trip. You are MAAAARVELOUS! Anyone interested can view some of my pics from the trip on my flickr account: flicker.com/photos/ppix

VACATION! Leg 1

xerberus — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:28:03 GMT

I decided to take a little vacation on the East Coast discovering the historical cities of the Atlantic seaboard. From 10/5-10/10 I visited my friend Cliff in Boston, MA. We had a great time together and I also did some exploring on my own. Besides historic neighborhoods and sites in the city, Cliff and I also took a trip up the MA coast to Rockport (most famous for the Cher/Winona Rider/Christina Ricci movie "Mermaids"), Glochester (most known for it's floundering fishing industry - no pun intended) and Salem (most famous for witch hunts in the 17th century, and boy do they capitalize on it now!) Boston is an interesting and beautiful city and surprisingly easy to walk around. The city's distinguishing feature is the abundance of red brick buildings and sidewalks and wrought iron all over the central city. There is no lack of monuments in this city, mostly of modest proportions. In the photo: Rolando, me, and my host Cliff.

A Message from the Dalai Lama

xerberus — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:25:45 GMT

Message to the People of Burma Message I extend my support and solidarity with the recent peaceful movement for democracy in Burma. I fully support their call for freedom and democracy and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements. Moreover, I wish to convey my sincere appreciation and admiration to the large number of fellow Buddhists monks for advocating democracy and freedom in Burma. As a Buddhist monk, I am appealing to the members of the military regime who believe in Buddhism to act in accordance with the sacred dharma in the spirit of compassion and non-violence. I pray for the success of this peaceful movement and the early release of fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Tenzin Gyatso September 23, 2007

Conspiracy Theories? Maybe Not!

xerberus — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 04:16:06 GMT

I've been hearing more and more frightening stuff lately about the possibility of this country turning into a police state within the next year (i.e. before the end of the CHENEY/Bush administration. In fact, I'm hearing so much now that it's becoming a deafening cry. And it's not just from "conspiracy theorists". Think about it, this administration is about to end, which means Cheney will now longer be the number 1 guy pulling strings any more. We all know what a power-hungry war-profiteer he is. Should we really believe that a guy who got into power through manipulation of elections and who has sought to manipulate and change the Constitution to his will since riding W's tails into office will let himself be taken out of office by something as minor as a technicality of the Constitution? The frightening thing is that the common word is that the administration will use an act of terrorism as the excuse to declare a state of emergency. Hmm. Who do we think will set up this act of terrorism? Now think about it. Has Dick & W, Inc. ever shown any true concern for human life? For human rights? So why start now. A few thousand people die, a state of emergency is announced, executive branch is given overwhelming powers to act unilaterally and... Here is just one of the links I've come upon recently. You may be surprised at the source of this information, not exactly the type you'd consider a left-wing conspiracy theorist: http://www.newsfrombabylon.com/story/2007/reagan-official-warns-america-could-be-a-police-state-within-1-year

Borrowed from the Internet

xerberus — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 01:41:52 GMT

I never meant for my blog to be one of those theme ones, but it is leaning heavily towards the issue of sustainability, which I think is one of the biggest issues facing the world now (saving the world from environmental destruction and saving it from destruction by warfare are tied for 1st place). This pic that I found on the internet sums up so much of what I think is wrong with contemporary society - the "need" for convenience without considering the source of our disposables, let alone where these items go after they are used once.

Fill it again, Sam

xerberus — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:12:13 GMT

Ah, the American Human, Latin name Americanus Horribilus et Wastefullus. I've gotten to the point where I can barely stand to walk into a coffee shop in this country anymore. We're a society on the go and nothing will stop us for a moment, not even getting our hot, mass-produced coffee. Evidently, millions of Americans have made it part of their daily routine to stop by Starbucks or one of the other coffee shops trying to compete with the monolithic purveyor of burn brewed beans and have their java served up in a paper cup. Every day. Think about it. In the glorious coffee-culture city of Portland, that means dumpster loads of cups hauled off to a landfill 7 days a week. Do these people bother to think that those cups came from trees? That once in a landfill, they will be sealed up and interred as useless material for thousands of years? Not to mention the plastic sippy lids reminiscent of the sippy cups we had as toddlers that are destined to landfill hell. No, paper cups are not recyclable. They are lined with plastic to keep them from falling apart well filled with hot liquid (duh). But we don't care about that, as long as when we are done with them, they go away. Away, that magical place... where what we don't want anymore goes. The solution is obvious - use a travel mug! Duh! They are convenient, they are earth-friendly. And it really isn't that hard to clean them. They are even dishwasher safe! Buy your coworkers one for Christmas or a birthday or Beltaine or Eid. Encourage your local coffee shop to promote their use (they can sell them and make profit, then also reduce their garbage bills to save more money!) Just say "NO" to single-use!

Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian

xerberus — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:49:42 GMT

This is something I found online that I thought was amusing. So here they are: 10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours. 9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt. 8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God. 7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees! 6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky. 5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old. 4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects - will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving." 3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity. 2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God. 1 - You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history - but still call yourself a Christian.

My Photo Link

xerberus — Tue, 15 May 2007 04:35:21 GMT

So I opened a Flickr account recently. So far I've got about 250 pics up there. Some of them aren't the best quality because they're scans (my excuse). Some I like a bit better. Hm. I would sure like to have some nice fangled SLR $1000 camera (sigh)... Oh, the link is flicker.com/photos/ppix

Another Hypocrite for the Far Right

xerberus — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:43:28 GMT

How does one go from porn star/male escort to darling of the evil Right? It seems that Matt Sanchez has the answer... Now I'm probably the last to know about this since info about it abounds on the Internet, but a certain former gay-porn actor and escort named Matt Sanchez (real name, not his stage name) has been running around promoting the conservative cause. Of course, when he started his missionary work for the League of Evil Hypocrites, he was not forthcoming about his activities as a gay-for-pay sperm bag. In fact, despite his extensive filmography and a website advertising him as a hot top that stayed in place for an extended period, he has referred to his career as a "summer job". I wonder what his good buddy Ann Coulter (notorious douche bag conservative homophobe and virulent attacker of widows of 9/11) thinks of his past fund-raising techniques. Maybe it's OK for men to screw men as long as they do it for money. She's all about hypocrisy anyway, so they probably get along just fine. There's a lot more to this story on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Sanchez

Movie Madness!

xerberus — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 04:50:40 GMT

Two movies I've seen recently that I highly recommend, both Oscar winners this year: 1) The Queen: Helen Mirren is just superb! It really feels like you are getting a close, intimate look at the lives of royalty. It isn't always a flattering picture, either. Charles comes across as a snivelling twit and Phillip as a blue-blood snob. The Queen Mother often seems stodgy and stuck on her own self-importance. Elizabeth herself seems torn between her training to be neutral and devoid of feelings and struggling with her own insecurities and her need to be loved by her country, whether that be to preserve the monarchy or for her own sense of worth. Yes, they really are humans! 2) The Lives of Others: This stunning movie is just incredible to watch as the lives of the characters twist and twine, mingling together even when some of those invovled aren't even aware of the others. To me, this movie is about choices and what it's like to live without them and the difference of those who do what their heart tells them vs. those who act on their own behalf. The former may not always land on top, but they will have their own self respect in the end. Great performances to be seen here as well. SEE THESE FLICKS!

Go East

xerberus — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 04:32:22 GMT

The last couple of weekends I went out to the eastern part of the Columbia River Gorge with some friends. My friend Dave (who is also on Tribe) owns some property to the east of Mt. Adams in Washington near the Klickitat River, so a group of us went there for a day of frolickikng in nature. The next week we went to Mosier, Oregon for a native plants show and a little hiking. It was really beautiful! Nature worth preserving for sure. The wild flowers were out of this world. I really hope to get out there again before spring passes. Thanks to Dave and to all the fun guys who went on the trip. You're the best.

Media Abuse

xerberus — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 03:59:21 GMT

First of all, let me make it clear that I do not watch television. I have only actually seen American Idol twice in my life while visiting family. This blog entry is not about the show itself, but about how we treat people. The one time I did happen to see this show, which I found to be a dreadful display of egos not on the part of the contestants so much, but by the host and the judges, Sanjaya Malakar performed. I don't recall the song he sang. I don't recall what song any of the contestants sang, to tell the truth. What I do want to write about here is the way Sanjaya has been treated by the media and the American public. Soon after I first saw the young guy with the shaggy head and shy smile get on that stage, I started hearing vicious media reports about the poor guy. He was shred by the media as a horrible singer, a sufferance that for some reason we had to bear (try turning off your TV). The judges on Idol were no better. Instead of giving constructive advice, they were mostly pretty darned mean (what right does Paula Abdul have to criticize anyone's singing?). And the public, you guys should be ashamed! I even heard of websites dedicated to voting for the worst Idol, just to make it a game out of that persons efforts and feelings. For a while, it seemed that the most important thing Americans had to look forward to was not an end to the war in Iraq or the end of Bush's reign of error, but the day when poor Sanjaya was voted off American Idol. I mean, really folks! Get a fucking life! This young kid had the nerve to get up on stage in front of millions and he gave it his best shot. He wasn't the worst singer out there for sure. Goodness knows that there are plenty out there who are worse than he and who are making millions at it. And the media and certain members of the American public (you know who you are) had nothing better to do than rip him apart. This brings to mind a question: What is the roll of our media? Do they really have any business using headlines (and I did see this on CNN) to announce that finally Sanjaya was gone? If they can use the front page to report on how bad an entertainer is, then why can't they use the same headlines to write, "Millions Look Forward to the End of Bush's Horrible Regime"? I guarantee more people will benefit from Bush's end than from Sanjaya's boot from Idol. Sanjaya himself, I have to say, conducted himself very well through the whole thing. He had to be aware of the ridicule being tossed at himself over the last several weeks and he was a trooper to keep getting up there and giving it his best. I hope that some day he does hone his talent and comes back to show us what he's really made of. Until then, Paula, Simon, Randy and many others owe him an apology for just plain being mean. Then they should go to their rooms and stay there until they've thought about what they've done.

My Daemon

xerberus — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 03:46:19 GMT

Hm. I wonder how long it will take the riligious wrong to jump on this movie. It's called "The Golden Compass" and their website says that everyone in the world in which the film takes place has his or her "deamon". People in this world evidently have them, too, though they are usually invisible. The picture is of my daemon. Isn't she a cute little devil? You can take a little personality test to find out who your daemon is on the website.

More Violence, No Surprises

xerberus — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 09:06:56 GMT

Reading CNN the other day, I was appalled to read about the massacre of over 30 people at Virginia Tech. I was also saddened by the tragic deaths and injuries suffered, the terror of those caught in the bloodshed (those who survived and those who did not), and by my own lack of surprise. Surprised? Why should I be surprised? Almost exactly eight years after the Colombine High killings, what has changed in our society to prevent such killings from happening again? Have we become more compassionate? Have we take steps to examine and reduce violence in our society? Have we become more aware of mental illness and started to take care of those who suffer from it? Do we have town-hall meetings about social isolation? Have we stopped bullying and prejudice? Have we even made the feeblest steps towards any of these goals? I'm afraid that the answer to all of these questions is "no". In fact, in the last several years, I'm afraid we have taken huge steps backwards. Instead of learning from the violence of the past, we have only taken steps to perpetuate it in the present and future. American culture continues to send out mixed messages about sex, money and violence all the time. We teach that the human body and natural sexual feelings are shameful, then we flaunt them in music and on TV and in Rock Star energy drink (bleh) ads in the most exploitive way; we teach that money is the root of all evil, then we teach that you are nobody if you don't have it and that material wealth is to be valued above all (have you seen Fergie in her "Glamorous Life" video?); and we teach that violence is evil as are those who perpetuate it, while at the same time glorifying violence through action movies, through video games, and through our own foreign policy which teaches that if you don't like someone, blow him/her up. Then we make sure you have access to all the weapons you want to do so, whether you be a disgruntled student or an ignorant and greedy president. The massacre at Virginia Tech is a tragedy of larger proportions than we know. It's not just about the loss of 33 lives, it's about the loss of our soul as a country. We lost our soul to our brief attention spans that can watch three hours straight of coverage of Anna Nicole Smith's baby custody trials, but can't watch 20 minutes of intelligent political debate (which has ceased to exist in this country). Briefly we will ask ourselves how such a thing could happen, but as the story fades from the TV screens and the top stories on in the internet, we'll go back to the same old-same old without ever searching for the answers. Then we will wonder if Britney's hair has grown back yet. And while we may for some time contemplate the horrible moments suffered by the students and instructors killed at Virgina Tech and the continued suffering of their loved ones, we probably will overwhelmingly forget to contemplate the victim from whom we could learn the most: Seung-hui Cho. We may never know what torment made him into the loner that he became. Perhaps he was bullied for being an immigrant or for not being rich or some other attribute beyond his control. Perhaps he suffered a chemical imbalance or some other physiological defect which put him off balance. Though there were plenty of signs that he was a tormented soul, he suffered alone in his silence that even his poor family seemingly didn't know about until April 16, 2007. He evidently spent years stewing in his rage. But instead of thinking of him as a victim of his own circumstances, he will only be known for a while as an evil villain because that's how we like things: good/bad, us/them, victim/perpetrator, black/white. And this is the mentality that keeps us from ever moving forward. My heart goes out to the friends and family of all those killed by Seung-hui Cho. My heart also goes out to Cho's family who have lost their son and brother in ways that very few people on Earth could begin to comprehend. By the way, if you'd like to test your memory of the history of such events, try matching up the following killers to their crimes and see how you do. Answers are given at the bottom of this blog entry. 1) Charles Carl Roberts 2) Kipland (Kip) Kinkle 3) Jeffery Weise 4) Andrew Golden 5) Eric Harris 6) Michael Meyers 7) Charles Joseph Whitman a) One of two boy killers (he was age 11 at the time) in Jonesboro, Arkansas who killed four girl students and a teacher at a middle school on 3/24/98. His partner in crime was Mitchell Johnson, age 13 at the time. b) Killed 15 people, including his own family members, plus a 16th who died from complications from the shooting 30 years later, at the University of Texas at Austin on 8/01/66. c) On 3/21/05 Red Lake High School in Red Lake, Minnesota, he killed seven people including a teacher and a security guard. He'd already killed his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend earlier that day. He then killed himself. d) Man who killed five Amish schoolgirls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, 10/26/2006 e) One of the two boys who carried out the Colombine High School massacre in Littleton, CO on 4/20/99. He and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher before killing themselves. f) Villain from the Halloween movies. g) Thurston High School massacre in Springfield, Oregon. Killed his parents, two Spanish teachers and two other students 5/20/98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) d, 2) g, 3) c, 4) a, 5) e, 6) f, 7) b P.S. I wonder how the front-page coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre in the last five days compares to the loss of over 400,000 lives in Darfur, Sudan since 2003?

Environmental Notes

xerberus — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:38:48 GMT

Yeah! Several days ago the new broke that San Francisco has banned those flimsy, awful, petrochemical plastic bags from common use. I say hurray for San Francisco! Here in Portland, Commissioner Sam Adams is investigating the possibility of a similar ban here in Portland, the city that banned the use of polystyrene foam food containers (cups, trays, etc) in restaurants, grocery stores several years ago. Let's stand behind this ban. The convenience of 'free' plastic bags has made Americans lazy and careless, leasing yet another attack on the environment that should be called off! Join the discussion on Adams' site at http://www.commissionersam.com/node/2336. On another note, the expansion of Oregon's pioneering but desperately out-dated bottle bill is under attack by big money grocers and the beverage industry, both protecting their massive fortunes with disregard for the environment. If you're an Oregonian, please contact your reps and let them know that you are on to these attacks and demand that they not give in to lobbying efforts! Also, are you a consumer of bottled water? If so, why? Bottled water quality is not controlled any more than the quality of the drinking water from your tap. Plus, the plastics from bottled water dissolve and leach into your beverage, so you are in effect drinking a petrochemical product! In addition, bottled water is shipped from God-knows-where, using even more toxic fossil fuels to haul a very heavy product to your grocery store. The idea that bottled water is somehow safer is a myth purported by companies like Coke and Pepsi, two of the larges bottled-water producers! Get a reusable water bottle and give tap a chance!

New Hero

xerberus — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:17:51 GMT

I have heard a lot about Joseph Campbell over the years, but I'd never taken time to become familiar with his work (yes, I should read more and put down this damned laptop). Well, I just watched Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth (with Bill Moyers), an video from a series of interviews. The interview takes a look at the history of myth and the power it has in our lives, how modern life suffers because of the lack of myths and the clinging to old and inappropriate myths, etc. Now I'm ready to read his work. If you have Netflix, queue it up! Definitely worth the watch!

Just a moment, please

xerberus — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 08:00:41 GMT

I don't usually do the spread-the-petition thing, but I do think this is a good one. As everyone knows, everything is available on e-bay. The problem is that e-bay doesn't monitor most postings, which makes it the perfect place to sell items such as pelts of endangered animals and other animal parts. I think that e-bay should be held somewhat accountable for what is traded on their site. If you agree, please take a moment to go to the petition linked here and sign and pass it on. Thanks. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/139801772

And even WORSE!

xerberus — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 05:31:37 GMT

So on top of friends getting gay-bashed and killed by careless drivers, today I was informed that my brother was diagnosed with Lou Gahrig's disease. No prognosis yet. Lou Gahrigs doesn't have a cure. Usually it kills within one or two years of diagnosis, but some live 15-20 years with it. The only thing to do is wait and see if it moves slowly or quickly.

In Memory of Nick - Please Start Seeing Bikes

xerberus — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:51:42 GMT

From the Oregonian: Bicyclist dies after being hit by car A 24-year-old bicyclist was killed in Southeast Portland late Friday after he was hit by a car. Nicholas Bucher, was taken to OHSU Hospital, where he died, according to Portland police. Bucher collided with a car driven by 32-year-old Cyrus Stanger at the intersection of Southeast Stark Street and 26th Avenue, police said. Stanger, who was cited on an accusation of fourth-degree assault, submitted to a toxicology test to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash, police said. and the obituary: Nicholas R. Bucher Monday, February 05, 2007 A funeral Mass will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, 2007, in Holy Family Catholic Church in Portland for Nicholas R. Bucher, who died Feb. 3 of injuries from a traffic accident while riding a bicycle. He was 24. Recitation of the rosary will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, in Wilhelm Funeral Home. Mr. Bucher was born Aug. 1, 1982, in Portland, where he lived all his life. He graduated from Franklin High School and was a chef for The Noble Rot. Survivors include his parents, Bill and Patti; sister, Katie; companion, Kelly Raylinsky; grandmothers, Mary Bucher and Dorothy Moore; and grandparents, Jack and Phyllis Moore. Remembrances to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. --------------------------------------- Five years ago Nick's friend Ryan Gladstone, was killed in a drunk driving accident on NE 33rd Ave. near Morris St. He was 20 years old. After Ryan's tragic death, Nick spent a great deal of time with Ryan's mother through the grieving process, which is ongoing. The senseless loss of Nick in this stupid accident coud have easily been avoided. Cyrus Stanger was driving his SUV over the speed limit and simply wasn't looking for cyclists as he rushed down a main through-street. Purportedly, his lights were not turned on and it was around midnight. I will give him credit for not being another hit-and-run driver. Nick was an intelligent, funny, sesitive, talented young man who was taken from his friends and family by the carelessness of one person.

Gay Bashing

xerberus — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 03:55:16 GMT

On Thursday a friend of mine was gay bashed during the short walk from the area downtown Stark Street area to his apartment in NW Portland. He had left a gay bar, which he went to after a work event in the same area (he works for a firm that has it's offices in a swank building nearby). The attacker came up from behind him and yelled "fucking faggot" before striking my friend. Said friend was knocked out and the rest of the story is hazy to him because of the injury he sustained to the head, which left him disoriented, but he somehow managed to make it home, take a shower (he doesn't remember this, but found a lot of blood in the bathtub in his apartment and on a towel) and passed out. When he woke up a short time later, he was still bleeding and felt ill, so he called 911. He vomited a large amount of blood. At the hospital he had stitches to several parts of his face, then a dentist gave him a temporary bridge (he'll recieve a permanent one later) to replace the teeth that were knocked out. I could go on a rant about how awful it is that in 2007 this could happen in one of the countries most progressive cities. Such rant would take a few jabs at the influence of our biggoted religious leaders and more than a few politicials out there, but I think we're all aware of all of that. But incidents like this have to wake us up for the stuppor that many of us live in. Many of us choose to live in denial and with ambivolence about the prejudices that we live with in our society. It seems callous to say that my friend is lucky, but it definitely could have been worse because he walked away from the incident, but I don't think he will feel safe walking in his own neighborhood at night anymore. Especially since the criminal has not been caught. Let's hope that his next "victim" is more prepared and more successful at fighting back. Here is a link to info on some other gay bashing that has happened in Portland: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://portland.indymedia.org/media/images/2006/06/340677.jpg&imgrefurl=http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/06/340643.shtml&h=269&w=450&sz=77&hl=sr&start=180&tbnid=cH6ySz-DDDTygM:&tbnh=76&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbashing%26start%3D160%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Dsr%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN

Biker Chicks ROCK! (and folk, etc)

xerberus — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 03:24:13 GMT

Last night I went to hear the Ditty Bops, a girl duo who are wrapping up a U.S. tour that they've done by bycicle! Over 4000 miles so far and counting! Both of these gals have great voices and they do some wonderful harmonizing on their jazzy, 40's-ish, quirky, strink-strummin' tunes. If you get a chance, check them out. This is their site: thedittybops.com

A Mac guy now...

xerberus — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 03:07:15 GMT

I did it! I made the switch from PC to Mac! So I'm a Mac guy now. OK, not exactly like the one in the picture and the now famous ads (I'm not so cute). Driven by my desire to never buy from Dell again (thumb my nose at the Republican @#$%^&*'s) and by the glowing reports other Mac owners had fed to me about their machines, I'm not using a refurbished Powerbook G4! Ooooh! Aaaah! So far I'm liking the machine, but still figuring out some nuances. I highly recommend a Mac to any PC users out there!

Vancouver!

xerberus — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 02:59:39 GMT

A couple of weeks I went on a trip to Vancouver BC. Once again, I visited with and was hosted by my friends Michael and Poul who were gracious enough to let me use their spare room. I arrived there on a Saturday evening. On Sunday morning we went out for Dutch pancakes then took a car ride up to the Sunshine Coast. The BC coast is in credibly beautiful with it's forests and mountains trailing right down to the ocean shores. On Monday we took a walk around Stanley Park, one of the loveliest parks I've seen, before I met a newer friend Rod, with whom I had a relaxing breakfast/lunch and then we went to the beach for the day. Vancouver is gifted with some wonderful beaches. Previous to this trip I'd only met Rob on line where we'd had several long, interesting chats about politics, life, etc. That evening Poul and Michael kindly treated me to dinner at Naam, a vegetarian restaurant with some of the tastiest food out there with a cozy feel. The next morning I was sad to have to head back to Portland. The trip went too quickly, as vacations do. The trip by Greyhound isn't recommended. There was ONE U.S. customs agent assigned to control all bus passengers coming through, so we were set hours behind schedule. The bus was also very crowded. Next time I will take the train! Thank you Michael, Poul and Rob for the enjoyable get-away!