urbanTechnocrat

Bella

So, last night I went to the premiere of Bella at the Latino Film Festival with my friend Jen, her mom, and a friend of hers also named Jen. Now, I've already seen Bella once before. Back in April my Jen hosted a charity event where the producers screened the movie at the Tribeca Theater. So, while this was my second time seeing the movie, its one of a few on a very short list of movies I don't mind seeing again.

Since Jen worked with the producers of the film for the chairty event, she knew exactly who to reach out to in order for us to join the afterparty at Mantra. What a great time it was too. The actors in the movie are really great guys who have set themselves on a mission to start giving Latinos the credit they deserve in films. Instead of always portraying the stereotype (you know, the thief, the don juan/casanova heart-breaker, etc) they're making films that breathe life into portraying real Latino families and success stories.

In any case, there were a few other folks there not in the movie... like Rosie Perez! Since it was my birthday at the stroke of midnight, Jen had no shame in asking her to do a birthday photo with the birthday boy and she happily obliged.

I wish I had a manny

The Manny Book on MySpace TV

Whole Foods meets Love Connection

Apparently the new Whole Foods on Bowery is chock full of people looking for a date along with a nice, ripe melon. Is Whole Foods the cruise spot for the straights like Home Depot is for the gays? Actually, please... everywhere is a cruise spot for the gays. HA!

Article: Whole Foods Bowery Is Proud of Its Meet Market [NY Sun]

Oceanic-experience in Battery Park

Coming in 2008 to Battery Park is a new high-tech carousel ride focused on sea life called SeaGlass.

Instead of garishly painted horses, the seats will be translucent fiberglass molded into dolphins, turtles, clownfish, and other marine life. And unlike a traditional carousel, which spreads out from a center column like an umbrella, these creatures will be supported from below on a turntable, allowing unobstructed 360-degree views. All this will be housed in a nautilus-shaped structure featuring 93 SmartGlass windows that darken during the three-minute ride to simulate the experience of diving to the ocean floor.

Check out the article and the web site.

My birthday song

The Billboard #1 song on my birthday, July 28, 1980 was:

"Magic" by Olivia Newton-John

What was yours? Go find out...

I HEART PUPPIES

OK... real or fake, this is the most adorable picture ever. Check out his spot.

Moving... again

Well, for the 9th time in 9 years I'm moving. The only year I haven't moved was this past year in 2006. And I had two moves in the summer of 2001. At this point, I'm pretty sick of it.

In any case, it has to get done and so here I am packing up my apartment. I'm moving to Williamsburg, the hispter neighborhood of Brooklyn where all the creative types live and hang out. Its quite an energetic neighborhood with a lot of restaurants, bars, and both commercial and mom and pop stores. I'll only be 3 blocks from the L train which gets me to Union Square in Manhattan in about 5-8 minutes. This is going to significantly cut down my commute time for both work and social activites. NO MORE BUS! WOOHOO!

I'm moving to a 2bdrm place in a building recently renamed "The Triangulum," named for its triangular shape formed by the criss-cross intersection of Keap St, Grand St, and Borinquen Place. And yes, I said 2bdrm; I'm getting a roommate. Ken and I decided that our history (see the beginnings of this blog circa 2004/ early 2005 for a historical review) is history and over the past year and a half we have become much better friends. While I am still a bit apprehensive, we'll see how it goes. I'm trying to be optimistic.

In any case, its a new 2bdrm, about 800sq ft, stainless steel appliances, laundry room in the basement, etc. The only real problem is storage space in both the kitchen and bedrooms. I'm going to have to buy some kind of wardrobe thing from Ikea to keep my clothes in because the closet is T-I-N-Y. Oh well... we'll make it work somehow.

So, back to packing. Pictures and such to come after everything is settled and internet is up in the new apartment. And hopefully then my life will have calmed down and I'll be back to regular posts.

You can stand under my...

well, the song goes "you can stand under my umbrella," but these boys can stand somethin' else, if you get my drift. LOL! Video courtesy Dashusland via Towleroad. Check it out. YUM!

Colombia OKs rights for gay couples

¡Ay Dios mio! That's right folks... Colombia. Check out what Gay.com had posted from The Advocate:

Colombia's legislature approved a bill late Thursday granting same-sex couples rights similar to their straight counterparts, the Reuters news agency reported.

The measure grants couples living together for more than two years the same social security and inheritance guarantees as heterosexuals in common-law marriages.

President Alvaro Uribe backed the bill, which cleared Colombia's Senate in February, and is expected to sign it.

http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/06/15/5

It amazes me that the United States can't get its act together just to get something simple like this passed. Yet Colombia, which has many more important issues to deal with, not to mention a much smaller gay population, manages to beat out the US in granting more rights to same-sex couples.

I really am speechless...

MA Legislature defeats gay marriage ban initiative

Today, the Massachusetts Legislature blocked a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage from reaching the November 2008 ballot. This is amazing news and a huge victory for gay marriage and at the same time an enormous blow to the hate mongerers who have continuously tried to reverse a the 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Equality wins!

Catch the story on the Boston.com