Here’s a little collection of some quirky and fun Christmas music. Most of this comes from a promotional CD we got in 1988 when I was working at 91X (alternative radio station here in San Diego). Other songs are some ‘novelty’ tunes from Bob Rivers. All of these are tunes I love to listen to. And yes - most of these people haven’t been heard from in the past 20 years. Whatever.. it’s still fun music... except for “I Believe in Father Christmas” – that song ALWAYS makes me cry. But that’s a topic for another journal entry :-)

Enjoy!

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Happy Holidays, friends!


--Jp

Proposition 8 passed. I'm over the grief, the betrayal, and the hurt; now it's time to get to work fighting it.

As we found out Wednesday night at the rally here in Hillcrest, the ACLU, NCLR, Lambda Lega, Equality CA, and Munger, Tolles, and Olson are going to fight it. It's going to be a tough battle, and will take even more donations to cover the legal fees.

I can't afford a lot of money at once, but I CAN afford to send about $25 a pay-check to the EQ CA fund. And if i eat dinner out 2 times less a month, then that will totally be easy to afford.

Once I realized that, I got an idea of how we, as a community, can really help— by having dinner parties!

Instead of going out to eat, we'll gather at somebody's house for a potluck. Instead of spending $20 - $30 for dinner at a restaurant, we instead MAKE something, bring it to the dinner, and put the $20 we would have spent at the restaurant into a donation jar.

I see this along the lines of our Economy DVD night, It should be informal, and fun, and not a burden on the host. Perhaps we can combine the two - dinner, and games / movies / conversation / whatever.

It doesn't matter if you can't cook. Make Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches! Or buy a bag of noodles and a jar of pasta sauce... a bag of salad and dressing. It doesn't have to be fancy. The point is to use the money we would have spent anyway on dinner, pool it together, and send it to a vitally important cause. If 5 people get together twice a month, that's $200 a month to donate!

And also, it's an excuse to get together for a dinner party and socialize!

I really think that if small groups of us do a "Potluck for Equality" twice a month, we can, as a community, raise a lot of money for our cause, and have an enjoyable evening at the same time.

So... Who's with me?

... I'll make the pasta!

raisincub and I are driving up to Fresno tomorrow, so I thought it would be a good idea to get an oil change in my car.

While I'm sitting at a stop light, I whip out my iPhone, and launch Google Maps.

I click on the GPS locator thingy, it finds me, and gently pulses blue.

I type in "oil change"

It drops a few pins to show me where nearby oil change places are.

One pin is RIGHT next to my gently pulsing blue dot.

I look up

Yeah. You guessed it... I'm waiting at a stop light, right next to a valvoline oil change station

D'oh!

... just sayin'

Saturday Night, I went over to kingfuraday's place, and we watched the movie The Orphanage

I like scary movies, usually— if they're intelligent, and not just some excuse for gross-out slasher type crap. I had heard great things about this movie, and totally wanted to see it.

First, i wanna say that this was an excellent film: good direction, good cinematography, great acting, and some wonderful twists in the story. Without giving anything away, I will say that the conclusion of the film was both frightening and heart-wrenching.

There were a couple times when I screamed. Yes, I actually screamed.. although in my defense it was more of a manly kind of surprised yell. kingfuraday might disagree about this, but that's OK, because he screamed a few times, too. I, however, actually yelled in his ear at one point, making him jump and yell at the same time. Sorry about that, Brian :-)

The end of the movie is very satisfying, and there is closure, of a sorts. After we watched the movie, we shared a couple of our favorite YouTube videos. Brian showed me this amazing video, which is now my new obsession. I've found a bunch of other songs and videos by the same artist. He is immensely talented, and only 20 years old!

I got home, watched a bunch more YouTube stuff until about 3:30 AM, when I realized I should probably get to bed. I finally get settled in a little before 4 AM, which also happens to be what I call "the creepy time". It's that time of the night when all the nocturnal animals are starting to go to sleep, and it's before most of the early rising animals and birds are up and about. There's almost zero traffic, everybody is asleep, and the whole neighborhood is extremely quiet. It's even creepier when there's a little fog, since any other minute sounds are further muted.

The house started to creek and make those little sounds all old houses do. Plus, all my electronics in the house have LED lights that flash, or pulse. The Wii was telling me there were messages waiting, and it does this rhythmic "blink (pause) blinkblinkblink (long pause)" . ALl of this added up to a house that was very quietly creaking, or making sounds, and lots of lights gently blinking, as if somebody – or some thing – was walking in front of them. The combination of the house noises, and the remnants of the movie still playing in my head, and the creepy atmosphere, just totally got to me. At any moment, I expected some boney, ghostly child's hand to grasp my ankle.

It's safe to say, that movie totally freaked my shit out.

I got up, and turned on a few lights in the house, turned on the Wii so that I could get the messages off of it ( and stop it flashing blue), and then went back to bed.... with the lights still on.

Yes. I'm a 42 year old adult man, and I was so creeped out I had to sleep with the lights on.

I can't recommend this movie enough! hehe. Seriosuly, go rent it, and then tell me if you don't get as creeped out by it as I was!

And be honest. If you go to bed late that night.... did you have to sleep with the lights on too?

I know there's this whole "post a picture of yourself in the '90's" meme going around, and it started me thinking about.. well... hair. Because for most of the 90's, I was working at a music store, with a bunch of rocker types. I had long hair.

Yesterday, I cut my hair shorter than it's every been - well, maybe except for a few months after I was born. The contrast between the rocker of the 90's, and the bear guy of the 2000's just made me laugh a little at how much my style has changed in 16 years.

( pictures behind the cut. All are SFW )

Where to start....

I've been über busy, doing lots of stuff, some of it fun, some of it not. In the interest of trying to get everybody up to speed, I'll just bullet list some of the things that have happened in the past month+

• Helped kingfuraday celebrate his birthday with pizza in the park, frisbee, and other silliness.
• I was elected Vice Chair of the Communications Committee for the San Diego Regional Sustainability Partnership
• Met with the Dean of the College of Sciences to try to work out some way to find funding for me, or ultimately make me a College– or University– wide resource No comments about being a 'wide resource', or you will be pelted with demonic Furbies next time we meet
  • The dean is well aware of my work, is very pleased with me, and wants to keep me on. The problem is funding, and the $897 million cut to educational funding this year. Still, he's doing what he can to keep me on.
• Two amazing people that I am honored to call my friends got married. Cheers and best of luck to cpratt and danlmarmot. I fully admit to getting all misty–eyed during the ceremony. I also met many amazing people from out of town.
• Went to see Spring Awakening with the bears. I must say that all of kingfuraday's hype was worth it. I didn't want the show to end. It was interesting and fun and emotional. The set design was clever and the music was exactly what the story called for. I really enjoyed it
• went with a bunch of other bearz to Black's Beach on Saturday. I haven't been there in ages (about 15 years). I missed it — although I sure didn't miss the climb down, and then back up! The water was a bit chilly at first, but then very nice after a few moments. I realized that that was the first time since i moved to San Diego in 1988 that i have been in the Pacific over my head. Before that, I've only stood in the water up to about mid-thigh. I love swimming in the ocean! I wanna go back again, and soon and yes, i got nekkid, as did almost everybody else. It's Black's beach, after all! you gotta get nekkid!
• crimsonsaint and I went to balboa park Saturday, and took lots of pictures. I actually took about 800. Of those, about 31 or so are actually worth posting. Check 'em out on my flickr stream

And that just about brings us up to date. Lots of little things and fun things have happened in the mean time as well :-)

OK, so, yeah. It's been forever and a week since I updated.

so much has happened, I'm not sure where to start. So instead, I'm just going to go along with this silly little meme called "Yiff me"

Yiff
1. Stolen from crimsonsaint who stole it from shadowolf1970
2. For non-furries, "yiff" means to have sex with. Define sex to your own limitations.

There is at least one person on your friends list that wants to yiff the hell out of you.

So lets play the Yiff or Pass game. The rules are simple.

1. If you want to yiff the person who posts this, send him or her a reply saying "I'd yiff you." But, you have to post this in your journal, in exchange.
2. Marvel at the replies.

Optional: Screen Comments (IMO, you're likely to get more comments this way.)
Optional: Expand upon what you'd do with the person.

Comment screening is on for this entry.

to an amazing guy who has shown me so much...

Thank you for introducing me to things I never would have tried. If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten a Wii. I also wouldn't have gone to Disney, let alone gotten a season pass!

Your LJ posts have been nothing if not interesting. So many times you've said something that is contrary to what i think/believe/feel. But each time, I examine my own thoughts on the topic. Sometimes, you've been right, and i've adjusted my views. Other times, I've discovered that I still feel the same about things.

In both cases, tho, I've looked at myself and my view of the world around me, and come away with a better understand of myself.

Thank you for introducing me to new things, and for challenging my world view. Both are amazing gifts.

Most of all, thank you for being a friend.

Happy Birthday, Brian! / kingfuraday

The rumors are totally true

( totally safe for work )

We all have childhood dreams.

Sometimes, they're realistic and plausible: "I want to know karate, and get that bully to leave me alone" and sometimes they're not so realistic: "I wanna be able to shoot magic fire from my fingers, and get that bully to leave me alone"

One of my dreams was to ride a motorcycle.

I never thought about it too much, I just thought I wanted to do it 'cause it was.. you know... cool and stuff.

For a while now, my thoughts have turned back to riding. But this time, i've been thinking about scooters. Now that gas prices are so high, having a scooter makes sense. I mean, some scooters get 96 miles per gallon! Instead of spending a couple hundred bucks a month on gas, I could spend $10 for the same amount of driving

The best thing to do to get ready for a scooter was to take a motorcycle class. (Motorscooters and motorcycles both need an M1 license in California). My former boss just bought a bigass bike, and wanted to take the class too, so we both signed up for the motorcycle safety program classes.

There are so many words to describe class, but the best one is: fun!

They're also challenging. But the challenge helps to build confidence. They teach you gradually what you need to know, but never coddle you. Got a problem? they've already shown you how to deal with emergency measures before proceeding.

The first night, Thursday, was a five and a half hour classroom course, going over theory and riding basics. The next two classes were on Saturday and Sunday, 5 hours each. These were taught on their motorcycles.

A couple times while we were doing the driving class, I would look at what we were supposed to do, and think "oh fuck no. No way am I gonna be able to do that". But when it was time for me to do the exercise, I did it with little or no problem, and in the process had a great time.

Every once in a while, I would stop and think about what I was doing, and just giggle to myself. "Im riding a motorcycle! This is so cool!"

At the end of the second class, they gave each of us an "evaluation" (aka: a test). They are licensed by the DMV, so taking the test on their course, with the bikes we've been practicing with– and learning on– for the past couple days, was a big help. If we pass the test there, then we don't have to take the test at the DMV; all we need do is pass the written test, and hand the DMV the certificate saying we've passed the MSP driving test to get our M1 license.

I passed the driving test, having only put my foot down once on the figure 8 U-turns, and stopping too early on my first attempt at the quick-stop test, but got a perfect score on the 135-degree turn and quick stop.

When I found out I had passed the test, I couldn't stop smiling. I was beaming the whole rest of the day. Not only had I been riding motorcycles for 2 days, but I passed the test!

Sunday night, as I was falling asleep, I kept going over the course in my head: push and counterbalance for a quick swerve to avoid an obstruction, stand and throttle-on to go over a bump or an obstacle in the road, push and lean for another turn... over and over again.

As I lay there remembering the test and all the riding; holding onto the feelings, the joy, the total rush of being on that bike, I kept thinking "Some dreams do come true. I'm a motorcycle rider now.

Hells yes!

I'm a MOTORCYCLE RIDER!"

I wasn't really in the mood to get back into work after lunch today, so i took some time to make some iPhone wallpapers.

some examples:




go check the full set. Feel free to download what ya like.


Full review of the iPhone 3G coming soon, including the good, the bad, and the rastaman.

I've been so overwhelmed with work (plus a few private projects) lately that i've not had time to do much of anything, especially keeping uo with LJ, Flickr, and email.

So this morning, I stop by my post box and pick up my new kilt I orderd, then headed to work.

I've been thinking about getting a scooter for a while now, and I've been really fascinated with scooters and motorcycles in general for a long long time. After talking to Jeremiah (tidblgr72) about it last night, I realized that the savings in gas would pay for the scooter in aobut 2 years time... sorta. I used a bit of fuzzy math on the equations, but it all worked out how I wanted it to, anyway. And that was to get a scooter! Of course, I'll still be keeping my Toyota Rav4. It's just that... well.. I want a scooter. And I want to justify it ;-)

( more about scooters, zombies, and chocolate after the cut )

So.. I was in this 80's band....

And we recorded a single, complete with a "b" side, and a dance remix.

I listen to the tracks now, and I giggle a little at how naive we were back then. But I gotta tell ya, there is nothing like the feeling of waking up in the morning and hearing your brand new single playing on your favorite radio station.

We were the top of the radio station's local artist play list for 8 weeks in 1987 (there actually was a pretty decent local music scene in Pittsburgh at that time).

Now that I have my USB turntable, i was finally able to capture our EP and make a podcast out of it.

the songs are:
Generic White - radio version
Generic White - Laceration Mix
Strange Quotes (a Special Place for Love)

You can listen to the podcast here, although I highly recommend subscribing to the podcast with iTunes.

( more stuff and pictures of a 21 year old twinkish JP behind the cut )
Go grab the podcast and give it a listen. It's ok if you laugh. I'm laughing too :-)

The day started off with sunny clear skies and that relaxed, 'anything goes' feeling that you get when you just know everything is going your way.
I met a bunch of guys at 11 to see Iron Man ( awesome fun movie) then went to lunch with kingfuraday, maverick1303, and jcubmn– who's in town for the weekend – at the Cheesecake Factory (awesome yummy food)

Brian and Jason headed off for a tour of San Diego, and Matt and I headed over to Bloomingdales in search of new and manly fragrances, then we headed over to Starbucks for some coffee and conversation.

On my way home, I stopped by my P.O. Box, and picked up my new USB Turntable. This thing is awesome cool!

I really hadn't planned anything for today. I just wanted to have a nice, relaxing day and planning a party is way too much stress, so I asked raisincub if he would plan something. Over the past week or so, he let me know that we were gonna eat out, but that it looks like it was just going to be him, me, Don, and Carl for dinner, since most people were going to be out of town, or already had plans for Friday. I was totally fine with that, too, because i was sure I would see everybody on Saturday night at Bacchus House's Bear Night.

I was told to meet Justin at his house at 6:15 ( I got there a little late). We all piled into Justin' s car, and headed over to Sammy's Woodfired Pizza.

We walk in the door, and two huge tables of guys all yell "SURPRISE!"...

I was floored.

Dinner was awesome, as always, but it was even better because 25 friends were there to surprise me, and help me celebrate my BDay.

After dinner, we get into our cars, and head out for the second surprise: "The Movie".

We then went to this place I've never heard of called Cinema Under The Stars... which is exactly what you would think. A giant outdoor movie screen, with seating for about 50 or so people. The chairs are reclining chaise lounges. There are heat lamps above, and blankets on the chairs if you get chilly.

We watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's". What a fun movie! Also, a total slice of early 1960's mentality. I'm sure the concept of seeing a "kept man" was rather shocking for the time. It was doubly interesting that the woman who was paying him was, herself, a kept woman, judging by the age of her husband. We dont actually see him, but we get a good closeup of his old, liver-spotted hands mixing a cocktail for her. Having Andy Roony play an over-the-top, non-descript Asian guy was laughably un-pc.

I gotta say this: I'm totally sold on the Cinema Under the Stars. That was such an awesome, casual, and comfortable way to see a classic movie. And it was a fantastic way to end the day.

To everybody who txt'd, messaged, IM'd, and called me, in addition to everybody who surprised me at dinner: Thank you all so much for making my 42nd the best birthday I've ever had.

Quote from a chat conversation with a friend of mine today, in reference to the word "worship" and some born-again friends of ours.

Seriosuly, any diety with such a low opinion of itself that it must make minions to tell it how wonderful it is... is a diety I really want nothing to do with.

Please discuss. All opinions are welcome.

Disney

Much fun, as always. I finally got to meet the irrepressible redbeardedblond and animbear, as well as The legendary e_ticket. Somewhere along the way, I met intoutdoors, and thanked him profusely for introducing me to Brini Maxwell (iTunes link). Although I didn't get on as many rides as I have in the past, it was still an awesome fun day, with lots of friends old and new.

EDIT: I met a bunch of other people, also, including jeffnuma. My apologies if I didn't mention anybody else I met; it was such a whirlwind day, and I'm having trouble remembering everybody that was there. My brain is slowly slipping away from me.....

Tomb Raider : Anniversary

I've always been a fan of the Tomb Raider games. True, some of them have had some parts that were a bit tedious, but for the most part, I love the games, and how they've progressed and changed over time. The last game, Tomb Raider:Legend was the best of the bunch. The sets are amazing, the puzzles are fun, the game-play was very smooth. It is probably the most perfect Tomb Raider yet. I can't say enough good things about it.

So when I saw that they were re-doing the very first Tomb raider, using the new graphics/physics engine, I was super excited. I've since played it a little on PC, and a bit on XBox 360. A couple nights ago, I picked it up for the Wii.

Wow. the Wii really changes the game. It's a little more challenging at times, but it's also SO much more fun! and it's so much easier to aim at enemies to shoot, use the grapple hook, all that.

I played for SEVEN HOURS last night, i couldn't put it down.

Daft Punk + half naked boys dancing = fun!

And that brings us to this little gem. I found this on the mangina monologues. These two guys do a dance to Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. It's really really clever. Wait until about 2 minutes into the vid, when things really pick up.

( Video is behind the cut )

There are no bears involved in this video, and twink haters should just move along.

BBC has video of penguins flying! Here's the story, or you can check out the video

For a small break from the post-TBRU wrap ups, I offer this video.

I laughed so hard, I had tears streaming down my face.

In the interest of not clogging up everybody's Friend's page, i've put each day behind a cut. Make sure to check out the full picture set on FLickr, too!

Thursday

( in which i'm drunk, shirtless, and enter a bear contest )

Friday

( We go to the museums, the grassy knoll, a party, and dancin' )

Saturday

( I get some game lessons, discover chicken fried corn-on-the-cob, and meet a diva )

Sunday

( I show off my easter bunny, have more beer and jell-o shooters, and a lot of fun )

Monday

Woke up, checked out of the hotel, and hung around with Mikey, Matt, Tim, the other Matt, and Chuck. Headed off to a Waffle House for lunch before getting on our flight home.

Observations about the trip

1. By Sunday morning, just about everybody was talking with a bit of a drawl. Lots and Lots of Ya'll's being tossed about.
2. I met so many fun and interesting people; more than I can possibly remember. Please don't feel insulted if I've forgotten your name, LJ-, and/or Flickr handle.
3. All of the locals I met and talked with were SO friendly! Granted, they were mostly all in the gay-friendly sections of town, but many weren't. Yay, Dallas!
4. Sometimes, you just need to say "Fuck it! Why the hell not?". You might just wind up on a stage with a bunch of other hot, shirtless guys, and having an awesome time! So what if you don't win? It's the journey that matters. And oh, what a journey it was :-)

I want to thank all the people I met, hung out with, and had fun with. Ya'll are such a great bunch of people!