Bill | the older & wiser Pliny | fiftysomething queer | San Francisco since 1994 | on the web since 1996 | fka Mermaniac back in the blogging days | he/him
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2026-10-31T10:44:18Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Some recent books I’ve read: npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) we get a lot of ads for AI companies so anti-AI ads are refreshing npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) here’s the info on subscribing to The End Times digitally (the print version is US only) npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Benjamin Percy, who I know as a comics writer, is producing a post-apocalyptic serialized novel called The End Times in the form of a monthly tabloid newspaper that you can subscribe to digitally or even in print. They are apparently using the same press that the publisher’s mother-in-law uses to produce a weekly newspaper in her hometown of South Dakota. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Charlie Werzel on AI as a mass delusion “one of AI’s enduring cultural impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it” npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Sunrise this morning npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) San Francisco drag performer Hilary Rivers was taken by ICE yesterday morning; the night before she competed in the Miss and Mr Safe Latino Pageant. I saw this play out on social media; one of my friends was also a contestant, and I knew a lot of folks who attended. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) This administration is committed to the systematic erasure of queer people and queer history. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Yesterday was the anniversary of the White Night Riots, which took place in San Francisco on May 21 1979 after Dan White was found guilty only of voluntary manslaughter after his murder of Harvey Milk and George Moscone. The violent police retaliation in the Castro that evening was swift and brutal. Underground cartoonist Paul Mavrides designed the now iconic NO APOLOGIES tee shirt in the immediate aftermath of the riots. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) It’s quite nice that my birthday today coincides with Indie Bookstore Day. Yesterday I went by Fabulosa to pick up some gay mysteries, so I probably don’t need to go again (although it’s tempting). Instead my plan is to go to an art supply store or two and then find some time to read and/or journal and/or draw and/or chill. Tina’s taking me to a birthday dinner tonight, which will be lovely. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Yesterday I picked up a few bandanas at the Renegade Craft Fair. A few years back I bought a bandana from them that I really loved, but there were a lot to choose from. This time I decided to get a few that struck my eye. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) “Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K Jones is an evil, pointed, heartbreaking tiny little story (549 words!) from Lightspeed Magazine’s January 2024 issue, and it was just nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. You can read it for free here. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Beautiful almost-spring day that’s perfect for a walk in the neighborhood npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) This is a stunning article about a never-noticed queer love affair between two British officers who survived the tragedy of Scott’s failed expedition to the South Pole in the early 1910s, told through diaries and letters. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) All I could feel was overwhelming sadness. How fucking scared and hopeless must that kid be right now. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Tina and I went to a Walgreens last night — we’re traveling, so we stopped by to pick up water and snacks for the hotel room. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I found this to be reassuring. “Is Somebody Doing Something?! Yes. Let me break it down for you.” npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Our new mayor Daniel Lurie wrote a strong and unequivocal guest opinion for the Bay Area Reporter on the need to stand up to protect the LGBTQ+ community, and I am moved more than I thought I would be. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Thinking about pioneering playwright Lorraine Hansberry; she passed away from pancreatic cancer on this day in 1965 at the young age of 34. She was best known for her 1959 hit play A Raisin in the Sun; the iconic Broadway production included Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, and Louis Gossett Jr in the cast. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) “Instructions for Building Your First Time Machine” from T.S. Leonard, in the Jan/Feb 2025 issue of Poetry. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I use FB and Insta because that’s where my chosen family is active. My tiny little IRL community — many in the queer corners of the Castro, SOMA, the Mission and the TL — is embedded in these spaces. Just deleting my Meta accounts is a choice I can make. That choice will leave me isolated from a big portion of my people. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Today I remember Reed Erickson, a trans man who used his inherited wealth in the 1960s and 1970s to fund a number of early queer and trans organizations, including the Erickson Educational Foundation in 1964, a vital resource for medical, emotional and legal advice for trans individuals of the era. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) The show at the Oakland Museum had a lot of great stuff, and I’m glad we went npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) More favorites npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Lots of great finds, like this Yolanda Lopez print for a Chicano Park Day in Logan Heights that Tina is pretty sure they attended in the early 70s. Also, several of these prints that Tina is standing in front of are organizations that Tina worked for. And there’s art by Viviana Paredes and Rafa Esparza as well. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) The day after Christmas we went over to the Oakland Museum to see the CALLI: ART OF XICANX PEOPLES exhibit, with art by old friends like Rafa Esparza, Joey Terrill, Yolanda Lopez, Viviana Paredes, and others. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Good grief npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) My honey has been experiencing some pain and physical discomfort for the past few days; yesterday, after a day of testing and waiting, they were admitted to a room with a diagnosis — it’s a gallbladder issue. We are both relieved and in good spirits now that we finally know what’s going on and we have a plan for treatment. This morning we found out that more tests are needed, so I’m taking a break quick break to run some errands at home. I don’t plan to write too much about this and I might delete this later on, so please don’t take offense if I do. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Going tomorrow to Cyndi Lauper’s farewell tour. Never seen her live, so it’s about dang time. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Love to hear what you think of this one npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) West Coast Craft was fun. I didn’t really find much that I wanted to buy, but it was still fun to walk around. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I got it from the artist — JadeHowdy on IG, and JadeHowdy dot com — at a craft fair this weekend! npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) It was cute! I’d say a couple hundred tables with students and alums selling prints, comics, crafted items, ceramics, zines and more. Very queer, fun vibe. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Loved this zine I got today: AI ART IS FOR CHUMPS by Jade Howdy. Makes me so happy. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I’m a sucker for a craft fair, so I’m going to swing by CCA for this one this afternoon npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I’ve tested the Croissant app, and it seems to work just fine. Love to hear your experience with this one. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I was sad to hear that my friend Philo passed away. He moved to LA a long time back, but we grabbed coffee last summer. We got to catch up, and he told me about his job and an opportunity he had to move to the high desert outside of Palm Springs. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) My poet friend T.S. Leonard, worried about the feeling of helplessness in the face the presidential election, suggested the following as a writing prompt: npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I know it’s crazy to suggest, but I hope you watch WandaVision first. Agatha is very much it’s own show, but some of it won’t make sense without Wv. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) There really is nothing like Agatha All Along out there. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Hey, today’s Oscar Wilde’s 170th birthday. I was going to write a whole thing about him — I read a massive bio of him when I was in eighth grade, which was very on brand for me. But if you don’t know why Wilde is such a figure for queers, I don’t know what to tell you. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) I would go with the .com — if you go to the instagram, the most recent postings are referencing emails that end with transgenderdistrictsf . com. Also, that website has a more up-to-date staff list. The .org account has the names of people who no longer work there. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Sometimes the sunset makes me melt npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Fabulosa Books in the Castro has a really special project called Books Not Bans where customers buy queer books, which are then shipped out to places across the country that need them. The CBS Evening News just did a story on it! npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) Pulled this on the bus — the Eight of Wands. A sudden burst of righteous energy that can bring about a change in your status quo. The card shows a 1966 riot of sex workers and drag queens fighting back against police violence. npub1w24903ntmlmznm03ugazuw2audx5p2780vxwtf96ffdtrndwwyfsznpjce bill (pliny the older) The moon at sunrise this morning
