Monday, February 6, 2006, 02:08 PM - Friends, Food
Yesterday was a high point in the annals of competitive eating. Delicious breakfast with Meredith at Slow Club to coach her on her job interview today at Larkin Street (they'd better hire her...her background of teaching GED in the SF County Jail will serve her well with the hustlers and gutter punks). Then Eitan's birthday party (7) with the new baby brigade- thankfully with minimal birthday cake consumption - I wanted to make sure the under-10s had enough material for a mammoth sugar rush. Things really got interesting once the game started - thankfully I went running during quarters 1 and 2, since Quarter 3 was spent at Binko's house of midwest ironworker 'file cabinet' chile, and Quarter 4 at the Paleokrassis palace of spanakopita. Sounds excessive, right? What if I tell you that then I went to Gary Danko with Lizbet and her charming father from North Carolina? I can't imagine wanting to see any more food for at least a week.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006, 05:41 PM - Friends, Books
My dear friend Eric Martin is reading Thursday, February 2nd at The Lab - he kicks things kick off at 7:00. He'll be reading from his book-in-progress Little Miss Zapata (or whatever he ends up calling it). I've heard him read from this one before, and it's delectable stuff. You may remember him from such wonderful novels as Luck (recently out in paperback) and Winners (for when you want to get your Foreign Cinema dot-com nostalgia on). He tells me: "I don't know what I'll read from yet but you might
get a glimpse at the lost tribes hiding out in 400-year old sewers, a teenage girl in drag chased through Mexico City's rock n' roll market, or a Texas cowboy fighting a peyote lord of the north."
Other folks reading include Juvenal Acosta (who just finished a book about the last Mexican vampire), Stephen Beachy (who broke the J.T. Leroy story), Marianna Cherry (whose name is never far from the word "erotica") and Charlie Girl Anders.
Monday, January 23, 2006, 06:13 PM - Politics, Friends
If you can stand it, take a look at the MSF list of some of the horrendous things going on in the world that are being ignored:list of the 10 most underreported humanitarian crises.. My friend Jane Coyne has been working with MSF for the last year or so, doing post-tsunami relief in Sri Lanka and working with malnourished children in a couple of places in Africa. I have huge respect for her work, and for this organization - they seem a little less strangled by bureaucracy than many aid groups, and their quick response to crises like the Pakistan/ Kashmir earthquake is impressive. Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 02:17 PM - Politics, Friends
My friend Josh -with whom I worked with last summer on Leave My Child Alone- just got featured in a NYT story on Pentagon monitoring of campus anti-war activism.. Nice to know I'm helping shape the next generation of activists... also Jen Low from Code Pink is part of the fun - aren't they cute?
Tuesday, January 10, 2006, 12:36 PM - Friends
Angela and Erik had their baby yesterday (Monday) morning!!! 6:42 AM - she's 8 lbs. 4 oz., 20 inches, has lots of straight black baby hair, is long and lean and the softest thing in the world. No name as of yet - so if you've got strong feelings (some of us are still hoping for La'Beija) get to lobbying. Mom and baby are both doing fine - after a quick and very intense labor, BG made a dramatic entrance (taking after Ang already) and of course they barely made it to the hospital in time (not like Angela would be EARLY for birth, or anything...). They will probably be heading home tonight (Tuesday), maybe tomorrow. The best birthday present I could hope for, even if she was one day early. We are one step closer to Capricorn world domination. 
Tuesday, January 3, 2006, 05:49 PM - Sex, Friends
Today I found out someone I know just got a positive HIV test result; a frighteningly horrible way for him to start his new year. I never know whether to be more angry, sad, or astonished when this happens...I get angry that all my nagging to be careful didn't work, I am sad that so many of my friends have to have sex in a world where this is still such a risk, and astonished that we haven't made more progress (personally, socially, culturally). Did I mention the viciously angry reaction to people who deny their own reality or are too cavalier to protect their partners?? I'm frustrated at the way our efforts seem too often to leave the responsibility to NOT infect other people out of the discussion. All our work in HIV prevention, while I know to have had significant impact, is meaningless when it fails at the individual level, and all my social network disease theory and epidemiology wasn't enough for him. And for all that medicine offers growing hope to (first-world) people living with HIV, it can't touch the pain my friend is going through today.Thursday, December 29, 2005, 01:59 PM - Travels, Friends
I am freshly back from the east coast, and while I did have some ridiculously wholesome holiday times with dear Dad, there's nothing like NYC during a transit strike to make you realize the true beauty of human nature. (In truth I was comfortably watching MNF with George when the strike was called, but trust me.)
Favorite parts of my trip:
Watching Andrew in his triangular Italian army jacket pick up a hot blonde on the F train by discussing her ability to suck Ruper Murdoch's cock.
Suprising Gaby at a Hanukah party (thanks Nick!).
Brunch at Prune with Claire and Heather.
Spending Friday night at a black tie event thrown by artsy Brooklyn artists scraping to afford NYC, and Saturday night at a White Trash Xmas party thrown by a bunch of Wharton private equity rich kids. And the bare-chested bartender at the gay hedge fund party, did I mention him?
Watching my hardass friend Rachel transform into a cooing blissful mom when she holds brand-new Ulisse.
Monday, December 12, 2005, 02:42 PM - Politics, Friends
I got this request for help from a friend in New Orleans - he's appealing for funds to rebuild a school there - and of course it's the simple local institutions that help create true community, and that must be revivied to ensure that New Orleans residents a home to return to.
;)
Here's their appeal:
The International School of Louisiana (ISL) opened six years ago and with a mission of providing children of all backgrounds a challenging language-immersion (Spanish and French) curriculum with a
focus on global citizenship. Many believed ISL was the best elementary school in New Orleans before Katrina, and its survival is, in a small way, crucial to the city's success.
As the first and only one of three Orleans Parish-based public schools to resume operation after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, ISL has demonstrated the resilience to reinstate the quality learning environment our children enjoyed before the storms. The job will not be easy, but we have the tools to make it happen: talented, dedicated administrators and faculty, and families devoted to restoring ISL to its former vitality and promise.
Currently, ISL is operating in a small church building west of New Orleans, in Kenner, LA; but we plan to return to Orleans Parish. We are
working with the School Board to obtain a building, but we will need to pay for renovations ourselves.
What ISL needs is money: resources to ensure that the school can afford to make the changes that will be required to move into a larger school
building in the City of New Orleans. The families of ISL have set a goal of $100,000 by December 31st.
If you can help us put those resources together with a contribution of your own, it will go to very good use and will be greatly appreciated.
We're trying to get as many $100 donations as we can, and anything you could give would be a great help.
ISL is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization, and you may contribute securely online by visiting the ISL web page (where can also read more about the school): [/url] http://www.isl-edu.org .
For ongoing updates on Katrina-related issues:
Katrina Action
Friday, November 11, 2005, 08:09 PM - George, Friends
It's being very much assisted by certain communications, like the note I got in the mail from my dad yesterday:
I was a little hurt about your love life. Better over before you become really deep.
Life has its cruel way of answering questions - Why? Who can guess them. All I can say is there is another street car. If it stops, get on.
I love my dad way too much. And someone else had this to say:
you are lovable, sexy and super-fucking smart. not to mention bold and spunky.
translation: dream date
My friends are the best.
Monday, November 7, 2005, 01:28 PM - Dancing, Friends
Made me very very happy. Who would have thought those Stanford GSB folks had it in them?? Susie, apparently, is a punk rocker now. Back
