Peggy Schaefer was one of about 60 members of the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks who turned out for the meeting.... from the sptimes article
“I don’t want that man in office,” she said. “I don’t think we should be paying him $150,000 a year when he’s not been truthful. We have to speak up. Of course, we don’t believe in sex changes or lesbianism. They have their rights, but we do, too.”
Mr.s Schaefer, is one of those rights a right to bigotry?
[photo: James Garnett Jr]
So i'm watching Gilmore Girls and I open the laptop and on the front page of the St. Pete times, there's Nadine Smith getting arrested in Largo.
So I flip over to bay news 9 and I find that this poor Transsexual man that's a city manager for Largo is being lynched before the Largo City council. And as i'm watching, a new face has appeared on the horizon of Pinellas county... Largo's Mayor Pat Gerard. She defended the city manager with common sense and intelligence.
Mayor Gerard and City Manager Stanton, you are my heroes. Support Equality Florida. Nadine, if I was a Lesbian, we'd be picking out china at Dillards. I love ya.
update: 9:40: FORMER city manager stanton. They just fired him. Commissioner Black and Vice Mayor Whatever your name is, you are evil personified.
My friends dan & natalie are getting married in Key West. They told us this and we got the invitation like a year ago. They lived together for 3+ years, bought a house and were talking about having a baby and the parents staged a marital intervention and said, we're going to have a wedding for you and you need to be there. So the wedding becomes this HUGE event with 9 bridesmaids, 500+ guests in Our Lady of the Seas in Key West. All our friends are going to be there...blah, blah, blah... ok, fine. I'll book a weekend in Key West for your wedding.
So in august, my roommate Edward starts bugging me about reserving the room. We finallly decide on this B&B called L'Habitation on Eaton street near Duval. We decide we don't want to drive so we book tickets on the Key West Ferry Friday before the wedding on sat. We plan to leave work and drive to Ft. Myers Beach, then roll out of bed the next morning and get on the boat.
I've never been to Key West before... lived in florida most of my life; never been there. 
Thusday night, we drop the dogs with the Brandon Bears ... there's these two bear friends/coworkers of mine in brandon who have graciously agreed to watch our two doggies... God, do I owe them big!!!... and then we head down 75 with my friend Paul in tow.
We stay at this place called "The Lighthouse Resort" on Ft. Myers beach and I literally never see the staff. I reserved online. I call on the way down and explain it's going to be after midnight when we get there. She tells me it's room X, the room's unlocked and the key will be on the table. We get up in the morning and leave, there's nobody in the office so I call. Lady picks up and says, just leave the key on the table, I've got your credit card, i'll just charge the room to it. So I did the whole thing over the internet and never saw the staff... great new world we live in, hun?
So we get on the boat and it's a new boat, everything nice... p.s. It's the ONLY way to get to key west. Driving for me is no longer an option. The traffic is just too horrible to be believed. Three hours tour goes like this: Bloody Mary, Up to third floor observation, get too cold, back downstairs to the bar for another bloody mary, snack bar for some munchies, back observation deck, sit and watch satellite TV for a bit, Bloody Mary... well, you get the point. Little boring, but a great RELAXING ride as opposed to a 10 hour car drive in start/stop traffic... FABU... I highly recommend..jpg)
We dock, walk a few blocks to our B&B and by then, we're hungry again, so we have late lunch at the Grande Cafe which is right around the corner from our B&B. Great food and even greater Mojitos.
The B&B has this WIDE martha stewart-esque front porch in the style of the key west victorian with wicker furniture and as I walk up the steps...I feel it... this is home. This is the style house I want to live in. Whether it's key west or St. Pete, where ever, this is MY style. This is what I like. The weather is a perfect 72 degrees. The island breeze is blowing through the palms. It is a zen moment. .jpg)
We walk to front street on duval, shop, eat, shop, walk, walk, shop. By 5PM we're exhausted. We go back to the B&B and all three of us CRASH. We have a wedding event at 9PM back at the grande cafe.
Duval Street is MOBBED. It's like New Orleans at Marti Gras, except without that "you could get stabbed at any moment" thing..jpg)
The wedding thing is nice, if crowded. Dan and Nat are totally a class act and all the events leading up to and including this have been done first-rate. Andreus does his best interpretation of an uncut penis. Brian passes out on one of the benches. Andraes wife Beka is very amused. The bride and groom look fabulous. Everyone is witty and urbane. Natalie, the bride, tells us that she's 3 months pregnant. I'm like, your kid gonna be a six month baby.... ahhhhhhhh..... she's like... i'm hormonal.... I will CUT you. I back off. Mental note: Binge eating partner for the next six months. Check..jpg)
It's midnight-ish when we get done with the str8 people so we hit the gay clubs on the south end of duval and it was just OK... nuthin special. I prefer Georgies, but when in Rome...
So the next morning I'm trolling for Breakfast because the B&B just has a continental breakfast and that's just not going to cut it. I find this FANTASTIC creparie at 512 duval. The smell coming out of the windows is wonderful. IF YOU EVER GO TO KEY WEST, YOU SIMPLY MUST HAVE SOME OF THESE CREPES. She makes them fresh with fresh fruit and they melt in your mouth. Anywho... Edward and paul aren't up yet, so I thought I'd just get this blog entry done then hit the shoppes we missed yesterday before the wedding at 3. More soon.
when is the world going to wake up and understand the genius that is Sara Silverman?
So I got a roomba for christmas. I love the idea of having a machine do a task I find Tedious. I want the BathRoomba that cleans the bathroom and the KitchenBa that takes the dishes and puts them in the dishwasher.
So the oscar nominations are out and once again, we've been Mira Sorvino'd and her name is Penelope Cruz. It's not bad enough we have to be constantly bombarded with tabloid stories of the latest himbo she's dating to promote some useless film she's in... Tom Cruise/Vanilla Sky, Matthew McConaughey/Sahara... but the fact that she's been a working actress in the US for almost 10 years and her accent is still so thick I have yet to understand a single sentence she utters. All I have to say is thank God for Helen Mirren's performance in Queen because it's going to save us from a fate worse than "Oscar Nominated Penelope Cruz" and that's (shudder) "Oscar Winner, Penelope Cruz". Helen, it's all you baby and I couldn't be happier.
On Jan 20, 2007, at 1:43 AM, Samm Simpson wrote:
Fox News Story: "The Meanest City in the Nation?"
I urge you to watch this news story from Friday, January 17th. It describes how the St. Petersburg Police - under the authority of Mayor Rick Baker - used box cutters to destroy the tents of the homeless. This is an outrage.
St. Petersburg leaders should be leading the nation by developing partnerships between developers, hospitals, mental health agencies, private benefactors, religious institutions, universities, corporations, small businesses and neighborhood associations to coordinate create and maintain transitional housing for a population that is sure to be growing. Especially with the coming housing crisis.
Anyone who has tried to access services in this country surely understands that most facilities are full with long waiting lists, and many others have such rigid criteria that it can be nearly impossible to get help.
Has our society become so accustomed to weapons, war and torture that we've forgotten how to help the widow, the orphan, the downtrodden and the hurting? Are we so full of our self satiated selves that we see nothing of the pain of others? Millions of Americans are an illness away, a layoff away, an accident away from homelessness.
You can help with cash contributions and other support by contacting Bruce Wright of Refuge Ministries. 727 278 1547. And Let Mayor Baker know of your distaste for these tactics. 727 893 7171
Ms. Samm Simpson
Dunedin, FloridaTruth is our Weapon. Change is our Choice.
http://www.sammsimpsonforcongress.com
ok, i'm going to be the mean heartless guy here... as someone who lives only few blocks from the 3 different illegal camps they have set up over the last 6 weeks, i'm going to say, this is actually a good thing.
They had set up their tents INCHES yes INCHES from one of the busiest streets in St. Pete and had faced them towards oncoming traffic... when they got out of the tents they actually STEPPED INTO TRAFFIC.
They had been told multiple times that if they set up their tents again in violation of code that the tents would be removed. And they were. you can't just squat on public land have the expectation that you'll be able to live there indefinitely. They were warned days in advance and were given multiple opportunities to pack up.
They've been offered quite a bit of money in assistance and to get into an apartment and to get a job... they don't want to live in indoors and go to work, they want to live on the street. As long as america is a free state, there will be people who choose to live "off the grid."
Good luck to them. Don't block traffic and don't squat on public land or your property may be confiscated. Thanks mayor baker for doing the job no one else wanted to do.
If that opinion makes me evil and heartless, so be it. I go to work every morning since I turned 18 and pay taxes for the privilege to be evil and heartless.
-tom stovall
st. petersburg, fl
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I'm driving home from meeting my mom in lakeland. We had both been trying to get together for a few weeks because "she had something to tell me."
Earlier, when I got close to the restaurant, I text'd her that I was around the corner. She text'd me back that THEY were next door and would meet me at Sonny's BBQ in 5 min.
I got there first and got a table and she and her new boyfriend came around the corner a few minutes later. It was awkward and I didn't know what to say. She was trying to make conversation and it was a little lame. I was trying for her. During the course of dinner she told me she was getting married to "Bob" in March. I told her that I loved her and I wanted what's best for her and if that's what she thought was best then congratulations.
How do I feel? I have no idea. I don't have strong feelings about her getting married. it's her life and I don't feel the need to tell her how to live it.
I do however, have strong feelings about the wedding... She's like... we're going to have it in our apartment and just make some sandwiches for the reception. i'm like.... uhhhh...... no. I gotta get out my fairy dust and work some magic.
I'm a huge fan of film noir. Above is a still from "Dark Passage" which, in my estimation, is the best bogie/bacall flick and one of the best movies ever made.
I just saw this movie "Brick". I downloaded it from bittorrent and watched simply because to the best of my knowledge it never played in this area. It was a stunning achievement in a relatively new category of Neo Teen Noir entertainment. I'm a big fan of Veronica Mars and this movie is somewhat in the same vein. It got me thinking back to my favorite noir movies, so I've complied a list of Noir movies that, if you're a fan of Noir, you simply must see... If i've missed somthing, please feel free to drop me a line.
One by one they're disappearing. Not that i'll miss them, it's just the end of an era. Senior Citizen trailer parks have been a pinellas county institution since my family moved here in the 70's. Row after row of immaculately maintained lawns on which sit trailers, mostly single wide, owned by widows and widowers who lived up north and mostly worked at blue-collar jobs and retired to Florida on a pension and a six-pack of domestic beer in an aluminum can. They're leaving us almost as quickly as they appeared. In the last 10 years the price of land in pinellas has skyrocketed and made it feasible to bulldoze them and build town-homes and other multi-family permanent structures. Through the 80's and 90's they deteriorated and became urban slums for the indigent elderly. Many of them rest on real estate on which it would unthinkable to put a trailer park today. On the banks of lake seminole... where a high-rise condo rents for $1500/month... Dolphin bay facing the bayside bridge... how long can you hold out? Developers will write you checks for obscene amounts of money to sell your trailer park. Multi-use high rises are,objectively, better uses for land, but part of me... that scared little boy on the bus to school in 90 degree heat.. mourns the loss of yet another pinellas icon... the 65+ trailer park.
What can I say about the iPhone that hasn't already been said ad nauseam. It's expensive, it won't be available until June, it's larger than my current phone, and it's expensive... ...and I so fucking want one. The interface alone is worth the price of admission. did I mention that it's expensive? My roommate bought a Treo when they first came out and it was $500. The RAZR's were $400 when they first came out and they don't even do email. But alas, i'm rationalizing. I just want one. DAMN YOU STEVE JOBS.
Apple, Stop adding features to your ipods before they come back in time and hunt john conner. -Stephen Colbert
Cold medicines suck now that they took the crystal meth out of them. I had to show 3 forms of id just to get some Actifed and it doesn't work ANYWHERE near as good as it did. America's war on drugs is completely misguided. I mean seriously... who cares if some hillbilly blows up his trailer because he's making crystal meth, MY HEAD HURTS AND MY NOSE IS STUFFY. Fuck the war on drugs, I have a cold and I want to feel better.
... and it's possible my cold may be making me grumpy.
I'm watching the first four hours of Season 6. This show is consistently one of the best shows on television with the exception of that stupid president last season. This season, if the first four episodes are any indication, the show is back with a vengeance. This year's story line is compelling and believable. It premiers tomorrow night on Fox (Monday, Jan 7, 2007).
I'm sitting in my manager's office and he's reviewing candidates for programming positions and he tells me about a candidate resume. The candidate has has multiple employment references with the word "bible" in the title. It's clear from the resume that the candidate is a conservative christian. He mentioned that the candidate had gone to a particular high school... MY HIGH SCHOOL.
My boss decided not to interview him making the assumption that because he was a conservative christian that he would have a problem working with the Gay, Lesbian, Seek, Muslim, Rasta and multi-national programmer staff. In this case, working in a sheltered environment of the christian culture worked against this candidate in getting a job in corporate america.
I don't know how I feel about this decision. The largest part of my feelings say that he's RIGHT... coming from that culture I know how intolerant some christians can be. But I also know how loving and accepting others can be.... you know... the closeted homos who smoke meth with a rent boy on sat night then sing in the choir on sat AM.
We've all been there... a drive-thru line that's just not moving... here's how to hold someone responsible for their service...
So it's saturday afternoon during our January Floridian heat wave and I decide I'm hungry for a Quarter-Pounder. So I drive to the St. Pete McDonalds on 34th Street North, and if you've ever been to this McDonalds, you know that anything other breakfast and you get HORRIBLE service.... it's extremely slow in the drive-thru and almost as slow inside. I place my order at the intercom and the line is not moving so I sit there a while and finally get to the pay window. The chick at the pay window takes my money and thanks me and she's not rude. So anyway i'm waiting so long, my car's thermostat goes up, so I shut off the engine. As i'm still sitting by the pay window I can see inside that the cashier is talking on the phone with her back to the window. At this point there's like 15 people in the line wrapped around the restaurant. So i'm a little irritated that she's talking on the phone when she could be doing SOMETHING productive to get some of these people taken care of. So I pull out my camera phone and take a picture. She's immediately realizes that i've taken her picture. She opens the window and asks me if I've taken her picture. I of course tell her yes I have. She asks me why, I say so when I tell McDonald's corporate about the consistently horrible drive-thru times I can have something else to show them. She's like, it's not my fault you're food's taking so long. I'm like, i'm just sayin... with 15 people in the drive-thru... should those waiting customers really see you on the phone? She tells me, "I hope you got a good one." I assure her I did. She closes the window. She disappears into the restaurant. She reappears a few seconds later with my food and says... "there you go Mr. Food Police."
So I think I'm going to start a blog about poor service and take camera phone pics, because this seems to be the way to get better service.
And I may just call it Mr. Food Police.
So I want to my friend Shawn's house last night in Tampa Heights for a new year's eve party. Shawn and his partner put out a great spread and there were a kewl mix of south Tampa gays and hip str8 couples. I drank more than should be allowed by law and was driven home by my more-sober roommate. Now I'm nursing a hang-over on the couch wit the rain pattering on the roof and my two dogs asleep on the floor. One of my new year's resolutions is to get back into blogging, so here goes.
A world in white gets underwayThe job I started as a contractor about 8 months ago, continues to be challenging. I was added to perm staff shortly before Christmas and and i'm working on two full sites and a small ajax-based web application. I've been working extensively with the Yahoo JavaScript Library and object-based JavaScript. I've also found the Script.aculo.us/Prototype Library fascinating. More on that in the coming days.
I want to be with you, be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year's Day
Under a blood red skySo yesterday I downloaded from BitTorrent a movie called "Brick". It is what amounts to a Raymond Chandler mystery set in a high school in southern California. It's an interesting movie that only a few will ever see. It's a murder mystery and the dialog is VERY specific and in some places unintelligible. It's very well-written and a very fresh story. It's part of a new neo-noir movement in independent films.
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says, says
Say it's true it's true...
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one
So we're told, this is the golden age
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
I want to be with you, be with you night and day
Nothing changes on new year's day
-from "new year's day" by u2
these days i'm doing a podcast over at gaypinellas.com... I've had some really interesting interviews and met some really neat people. Check it out if you get a chance.
NEW YORK - Guns N' Roses fans went into frenzied overdrive when three studio-quality tracks from the mythical "Chinese Democracy" album were leaked onto the Internet.
The leaks came just weeks after frontman Axl Rose ended his hermit-like lifestyle by venturing out to a Korn tour launch party in Los Angeles and to trendy nightclubs for some post-birthday bashes (his 44th) in Manhattan.
ENOUGH! I've seen enough rapper's with gold teeth, gold chains and a 3rd grade education singing about their Corvosier and Orange soda lives. I've had enough of Kanye West's faux political activism and federal-budget-sized ego. I've had enough of pre-pubescent boy bands singing songs manufactured in the basement of a record label and marketed to 12 year old girls. With Brittany stuck in Malibu with her money vacuum boyfriend and Christina and Whitney nowhere to be found, I turn my soul, at last, back to my first musical lover... Rock and Roll.
If you haven't already realized it, Rock is back... and thank Ozzy, we sure did miss her while she was gone. Greenday has multiple Grammy's for their Tour-de-force, anti-establishment "American Idiot", arguably the most political album of the last 20 years. With new acts like Shinedown 
Here in the bay area, an icon is seeing some new talent... Clearchannel is rubbing the dust off 98 Rock. They've updated the playlist and the morning spot previously held by Trailer Trash Bubba the Love Sponge has been vacated to The Cowhead Show. Cowhead is a great guy and a talented radio host. If you haven't listed in, give it a try.
I've come to the recent conclusion that the greatest threat to a small business in America is the MCSA.
MCSA's recommend high-dollar solutions to easily solvable problems. They recommend Microsoft software to solve problems that freeware can just as easily be used. In short, the concoct solutions that create their own organizational interdependency. They are the crack dealers of the tech world. They promise complete satisfaction in exchange for their own . They create solutions that require their own presence to maintain.
And the Columbian Snow of these solutions is Microsoft Exchange Server.
I have yet to find any installation of exchange server that didn't require a staff member to maintain.
So the next time some M$ propeller-head @:-) with an MBA or MCSA or some other useless acronym behind their name recommends that you set up an exchange server to "increase efficiency" within your office... Let me recommend this program: 
