Tag Archives: Mission district

Glitter Emergency and More at Frameline’s 35th SF LGBT Film Fest

It is the middle of the SF LGBT Film Festival, high holy days are underway in the City by the Bay, Pride is coming,  and outside the festival’s host venues, gay film buffs are rubbing their bleary eyes after marathon sessions in the dark. The cinematic apparatus, not that other dark! There is something for everyone at this annual festival, now in its 35th year. The shorts programs are some of the best, and for those with short attention spans, are just the ticket. One film is not doing it for you? Wait 5 minutes. The next one could be all that.

“All that glitters is indeed gold in this wonderful collection of shorts featuring several gems from our very own Bay Area filmmakers… Take a look at disgusting alien bodies and eavesdrop on the deaf relay system. Follow a camera off a bridge in a memorial for lives lost. A dispute on the high seas can only be settled by a dance off (of course), and we’ll see just how campy an AIDS camp can be. Rounding out the program is a silent comedy set to Tchaikovsky and starring Peggy the Peg-leg Ballerina.” via festival director Jennifer Morris

“Glitter Emergency” shows at the Victoria Theatre, 9:30 pm on Tuesday, June 21st, 2011. The Victoria is located at 2961 16th Street in the  Mission district. Built in 1908 as a Vaudeville House, it is the oldest operating theatre in San Francisco.

Gay Guerrilla Leather Bar at Straight Skylark in San Francisco #SaveTheSFEagle!

What else do we do in Leather bars other than wear leather, socialize and drink? We make out, grope, slap face and ass, suck cock, drink piss, eat cigar ashes, trade gut punches, whip and get whipped, talk trash, fuck in corners, lick boots, tap sacs, work on nips, use the slaves, and so forth. In short, we have Leathersex, or at the very least our rough version of foreplay.

In the tradition of Queer Nation Kiss Ins and the club activist Guerrilla Gay Bar scene, the San Francisco-based ad hoc Save the Eagle gang is organizing a takeover of the straight Mission district hipster bar The Skylark. Its owner is purportedly involved with underhanded machinations to acquire the lease and license on the Eagle space – and turn it into a straight bar. See more here and here.

So tonight, the Skylark goes “Leather” for the night. Well, sort of. The idea is to wear Leather, use pink highlighters to encode paper money as “gay” and spend money at the bar. If everyone “respects the space that we are borrowing tonight” as the organizers suggest, then everyone may mix just fine. This begs the question: why even have our own spaces? WE know why. But – how do we show them why…while still respecting their space? That’s a hard one!

From organizers Kyle DeVries and Anna Glendon Conda Hyde: “Tonight at 8 dress in leather and head to the Skylark bar on 16th. Mark your money with a pink pen or marker so that it is seen as coming from our community. This is not about harming the Skylark but rather showing what would be lost if the Eagle went away and showing how queer space is not always the same as “just any bar”. We as a community should be vocal and visible while respecting the space that we are borrowing tonight.

So far the Skylark has not signed a lease due to public pressure. We are the first step closer to saving the Eagle. The Board of Supervisors issued a Commendation Certificate in recognition of the Eagles efforts in raising over 3 million dollars during its 30 year run for the queer community and are working to have the space land marked. They are also hoping to work with the concerned parties to negotiate a way to keep the Eagle as a space for our community.

Thanks for showing up and especially to the 15 people who stayed till 730 to make public comment at the Board of Supervisors meeting after 6 hours of waiting.

The people united can not be divided. Deep respect Anna and Kyle”

Serving, Protecting and Looking Back: San Francisco City Cop Seen

This guy was cruising the Mission district, looking for trouble when he looked into the eye of the camera. No flesh eye contact here ever, but the gaze persists. I see you seeing me seeing you. Do you see? An arresting stare that begins, and ends…right there.

Chaos in San Francisco’s Mission District as Car plows into rowdy Crowd of Giants’ Fans…Graphic Video.

Wild Giants fans dance around a bonfire at the corner of 22nd and Mission, jamming percussion on tin cans and street signs, pummeling them with skateboards, chanting and dancing, wild and ecstatic. Riot or street celebration? So far, the damage is only to property. But when a car plows into the crowd, things turn ugly. The mob reacts; the police arrive. Night sticks come out. Cameras flash. The new pose of civilian surveillance: hand up; phones out. Snap. Snap. We’ve come a long way, Baby, from Rodney King. A voice from the crowd offers sage advice: “Keep on stepping back, Man. You don’t want to get close to this!” Point well taken.