It's Not The Out Ones That You Need To Worry About

I really try not to let narrow-minded bigots get to me. You know, those Holier-Than-Thou types who don't let Gays adopt or become Boy Scout leaders because they are afraid of pedophilia, child abuse or the ever-so-dangerous Gay Agenda. But sometimes, really F*cked up things happen that make me laugh out of sheer frustration and yell at the top of my lungs, "It's not the OUT ones that you need to worry about!!" Seriously, us out gay men and women have spent our entire lives coming to terms with our sexuality and we are not about to spend our free time chasing after young boys and girls when we have bigger fish to fry, nor are we going to spend thousands of dollars to adopt a Mandarin baby just to sexually abuse her! Or perhaps the biggest load of crap that I just don't understand is: Why on earth would any out gay man sacrifice his weekends to be a Boy Scout Leader?

People, listen closely. It's not the out ones that you need to worry about. The rainbow flag waving homos that march down Main Street every June are not the ones you need to target. The ones who are most likely to sexually abuse kids are probably married and live in the suburbs and most of all, they are probably the biggest anti-gay hate-mongers you will find.

Take Spokane, Washington mayor Jim West. He spent his entire political career (over 25 years) trying to pass the most vicious anti-gay legislation you can think of and guess what? Last year it was revealed that over the same amount of time he has lead a secret life of a closeted homosexual who used his position to get sex from young boys! What a perverted and twisted piece of shitte!

It gets better ...

Just today Repulican Congressman from Florida, Mark Foley, abruptly resigns the day after ABC broke a story about an email exchange between him and a then 16 year old Congressional Page. Apparently this scumbag sent the 16 year old from Louisiana an email asking him if he was okay after Hurrican Katrina and then asked him what he wanted for his birthday and requested that the young boy send him a picture! Eeeeew!

The list goes on and on and I won't even touch the whole molestation scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church.

The next time you hear someone spitting venom against Gays and Lesbians, you should think that maybe that person is trying to hide some deep dark secret and this is their defense mechanism in action. Seriously, it's not the out and proud ones that you have to worry about. We have bigger things to worry about.

Now what brand of designer jeans should I buy next?

A Belgian Beach and a Belgian Delicacy

When Gavin and I meet people and tell them we're from Hawaii, he loves to mention that he grew up on a beach and that there are no beaches where I'm from (yes, there's just lava rock and ocean). So when we found out that Belgians have their very own stretch of beach on the North Sea, Gavin jumped at the opportunity to check it out.

Oostende is a quaint seaside town in Flemish Belgium. Located about an hour and a half from Mai's house, Oostende does deliver a great beach experience on a warm sunny day. Ok, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about a beach on the North Sea, but I was pleasantly suprised at what we found. The water was cold as heck, but the sand and sun couldn't be beat!


Hundreds of sun-seekers filled the beach on a sunny Thursday in September.

On Saturday night, and our last night in Belgium, Mai took us to have a dish that Belgium is famous for: Moules Frites or Mussels and Fries! Belgium had been an eating dream for me and this night did not dissappoint! Mai's friend Fa (short for Fabulous!) was visiting from Luxembourg and together they translated the menu for us (since they took us to a local favorite and not a tourist trap that you might find in Brussels.) The menu was quite extensive with dozens, literally dozens, of ways to have your mussels seasoned and steamed. Here's a few examples of the 50 ways that you could have your mussels done:

Garlic
Garlic, tomatoes and paprika
White wine & garlic
Curry
Cream
Mustard
Cream, white wine, mushrooms
Port
Pastis
and more!

Fa chose Moules au Gorgonzola, Mai had Moules au Pili-Pili (spicy sauce), I had Moules Valy (tomatoes, curry and champignon mushrooms), and Gavin had chicken (you are what you eat!).


The restaurant's van. I love the fries' mayo hat!


Fa and Mai.


Yum! My Moules Valy with Frites

Oostende and Mussels

Sep 27, 2006 - 9 Photos

Lille, France

Traveling around Europe is a bit like traveling around New England and the Northeast in the sense that an hour drive could have you crossing some sort of border (in the US it would be a state border and in Europe, you're in a different country!). Size and distance is often relative. For example, growing up in Hawaii meant you had to fly at least 5 hours to get to another state (California) or at least 8 hours to get to any country that really mattered (Japan would be the closest, although countries like Fiji or Tahiti are technically closer, but I don't know anyone who really visits those places.)

On a sunny Thursday, Gav and I packed up the car and drove a short 40 minutes to the beautiful French city of Lille. Crossing the border from Belgium to France was a bit like crossing from Washington State to Oregon State: there was no stopping (traffic permitting).

The metropolitan population of Lille (which extends into Belgium) had a population of just over 1 million, but the city itself is home to around 250,000. Lille is at the northern tip of France and also has a Flemish (Dutch) name Rijsel.

While in Lille, I got my first taste of driving in France complete with a three lane roundabout! Am I ready for driving in Paris? Probably not, but I still felt a sense of accomplishment. :)

After some sightseeing, a rest in the park and a beer at a cafe, we were ready to head back to Belgium.

Au revoir!



Crossing into France was never easier! Thank you EU!


One of the many beautiful old buildings in Lille.


A high speed French train.


Gavin relaxing in the park (The "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" Cam)

Huskies beat UCLA!

After being in the basement of the Pac-10 Conference for the past few years, it was great to see the Huskies beat the Bruins on Saturday for many reasons.

The last few seasons have been down right miserable for us Husky Fans, so a 29-19 victory over UCLA is something that I am going to cherish for sometime. To make things even better, the game was televised nationally on TBS. The Bruins had previously won 8 out of the last 9 games, so this victory was a welcome treat!

Up next is Arizona down in the desert. Visions of a big W will be dancing in the minds of us Husky Fans!


 

Je ne comprends pas Français

Oi LiendaBella che fa?
Bonita, bonita que tal?
But belle, Je ne comprends pas Français.
So you'll have to speak to meSome other way.

"Belle", Jack Johnson

 

Belgian Fries, Brugge & The $70 Tank of Gas

Belgium has been nice to us. It's been great being able to relax and enjoy some nice late summer weather and Mai has been an incredible host.

Since we don't speak the language, it's been very frustrating trying to interact with Mai's friends and people around town, so we've taken it upon ourselves to try and experience as much as possible - hands on - in an attempt to overcome the language barrier.

On Thursday night, Mai took us to get a Belgian sandwich and fries called mitraillet, which in French means machine gun, but in Belgium it refers to a special kind of sandwich that served with frites or fries.

Going to the shop was a treat and I'm glad Mai was with us because she helped translate the many choices that we had not only for sandwich fillings but also for sauces for our fries. There must have been about 20 different sauces ranging from Brazilian (spicy) to Ketchup-Curry and Sweet and Sour. Sandwich fillings ranged from lamb to chicken to breaded cutlet to meatballs! Our meal was so delicious and I have absolutely no idea why there aren't any of these shops in the US (I believe there's one in Seattle and one in NYC).

On Friday, we borrowed Mai's car and drove about an hour and a half to the beautiful city of Brugge (Bruges in French). With a population of just over 100,000, Brugge is a filled with old buildings and a canal system that reminded me of Amsterdam (just smaller and prettier). It was interesting seeing the change from French speaking Belgium to Flemish (Dutch) speaking Belgium and how the people in Brugge spoke French, Flemish and English (compared to the French-only speakers in the Walloon region of Belgium. For more information, check out wikipedia's entry on Belgium.

I drove from Mons to Brugge and Gavin drove back and we were both a bit scared in the beginning since Belgian traffic signs are very different from what we are used to. After a quick lesson in Belgian driving (really, what would we do without the internet?) and a stop at the gas station, we were ready to hit the road!

For more pictures, click on my Picasa Web Album link at the bottom of the page.


We totally pigged out on frites and Belgian sandwiches called mitraillet.


Brugge.


53 Euros later, we have a filled gas-tank! (The car is tiny, too!)

Brugge

Sep 14, 2006 - 17 Photos

 

Bonjour from Belgium

For the first time in a long time, I am writing in my blog about events that just happened. In other words, I am caught up (well, with the exception of the entire time when we were between SF and Montreal!).

We got to Belgium on Tuesday and flew into Charleroi which is outside of Brussels and close to the area in which we're staying in: Mons.

Mons is a cute town near the French border that has 4 Universities and about 91,000 people. It has a great small European city that is pretty much untouched by tourists, but close enough to major cities (Brussels is about 40 min and Paris is about 3 hours away). It reminds me of Hilo, where I grew up because of its small town feel and friendly people. It has a great pedestrian square with cafes and restaurants. It's a great place to enjoy a Belgian beer and people watch!

We're staying with Mai, who we met while she was in Hawaii visiting her friend (and my former co-worker), Valy (who we stayed with in DC. Whew!)

Last night, Mai took us to a "bbq" in Mons which was out in the woods, but it ended up being more of a bon fire event with a bunch of boys in their mid-20s who spoke French and no English. (I know what some of you are thinking, and cut it out!) It was great to get out of the city and enjoy some fresh air and see the stars, esp after the crazy times we had in London and Ireland ... It was exactly what we needed and we would never have been able to find this sort of thing if we were playing tourists and staying in a hotel.


Gav & Mai and a great spread of fine cheeses and wine!


Chateau de Havre


The Belgian boys and their fire.

Ireland and a TON of pictures

Ireland is a stunningly beautiful country and we were blessed with four days of perfect weather, so you can only imagine how many pictures I took (being the trigger happy camera wielding boy that I am). I've tried to whittle down the ones that I thought were the best and put them in my Picasa Web Album, by Google.

The pictures are from our stay in Dublin then Cahir Castle, Kellarney & Kerry, Galway & Clonmacnoise.


We're such rebels (with or without causes?)


The freaking Xmas Card

Ireland Slide Show

Sep 14, 2006 - 32 Photos

Luck-O-The Irish

editor's note: written on Thursday, Sep 9

After our crazy time in London, I felt that anything would have been a disappointment but boy was I wrong when we got to Ireland. Sure Dublin seems like another large British city since the architecture and building heights feel quite like London, but that’s where the similarities end. Filled with incredibly friendly people (and HORDES of American tourists), Dublin is a now a major European Capital city that is experiencing incredible growth and a hungry economy that is surging faster than the Guiness can be poured.

In an attempt to Create Value™ (Dublin is one helluva expensive city) we decided to give the Back-Packer’s thing a go. The first time Gavin visited Europe after college, he did what most recent college American college graduates do and got a rail pass and stayed in hostels along the way. I didn’t get a chance to do the whole Europe thing after I graduated, so I figured this would be my first time at it and boy was I in for a shocker. Some say that I’m a coddled and spoiled brat, but I’ve really gotten accustomed to having my own living space and privacy and it was quite a rude awakening when I found out that we had to share a 6 bedroom closet with a middle aged German couple and two young Aussie girls. (I figured it would be all male or female or trans-gendered or something, but that’s not how it works in Ireland! So much for the conservative Catholics!) Let’s just say that after a few beers to calm my nerves and some well needed ear-plugs and a face mask, I was ready to have quite a nice sleep. If you can get over the smell of feet, then staying in a European Hostel is quite the way to Create ValueÔ.

Ryanair and the £1 Fare

For those of you who aren’t In-The-Know, Ryanair is Europe’s leading low-fare carrier. Patterned after Southwest in the US, Ryanair flies an entire fleet of Boeing 737s and are as bare-bones as you can get. For example, their seats don’t recline, the safety cards are printed right on the back of the seat in front of you, there are no seat pouches and they charge you for just about everything (drinks, snackies, checked luggage, and other amenities). If you have a flexible schedule and know how to work the system, Ryanair can be the absolute cheapest way to get around Europe. For example, Gav and I got £1 (equivalent to $1.89USD) airfares from Nottingham East Midlands, England to Dublin and again from Dublin to Brussels. Now that’s seriously hard to beat! Of course, we had to pay the taxes imposed by the British and Irish governments, but you can’t escape that stuff.

Cricket

editor's note: This blog was originally written and meant to be posted on Aug 30.

In addition to Creating Value™ , we've also been on the look out for Cutural Experiences. These could be as simple as trying a new dish (soul food in the south, fish and chips in London) or learning new slang.

While in London, Gav and I got introduced to cricket. I always thought cricket was some obscure game that was played in England and the rest of the commonwealth and that it was boring, and I was right. People are quick to bash baseball, but let me tell you ... cricket is boring stuff.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, we were treated to an intra-office match of cricket played by Her Majesty's Treasury. We met up with Ryan (who's Aussie) at his office and went


Ryan & Gav on the way to the cricket match.


Ryan, the batman, striking a bowled ball and successfully defending the wickets (he also scored a few runs).

Loving The Lounge Life

editor's note: This entry was originally written and meant to be posted on Aug 31.

On our last night in London , Ryan took Gavin and I to one of the swankiest cocktail bars that I have ever been to, Lounge Lover. We were joined by his two friends Jesse & David. It was quite the way to celebrate the end of what was a great week and a half in my favorite city. We enjoyed wonderful concoctions and each of us shared stories from our travels around the world. Two Yanks and three Aussies in a foreign land, linked by a common language and all from former colonies of the British Empire.

Party Party Party! That’s our Image!

editor's note: This blog was originally written and meant to be posted on Aug 29.

For those of you who might not know this, Gavin and I love ourselves a big-ass gay dance party and London has one of the best parties in the known world: DTPM. Happening every Sunday at the usually straight and very posh club, Fabric, DTPM combines the best dance music and the absolute hottest guys I have ever seen in one location (and let me tell you, I’ve gone to some great parties in my time!)

On three day weekends, or Bank Holiday Weekends as they are known to the British, DTPM turns into the crème dele crème of parties.

Gav, JL (who was visiting from Seattle/New York) and I met up with a few of our new London BFF’s and danced the night away. Good Times were had by all!

If you’re ever in London for a Bank Holiday weekend, I highly suggest you make DTPM part of your itinerary.

A trip to the British Museum

editor's note: this post was originally written and meant to be posted on August 29

If there has been one thing on our trip that I have enjoyed the most, I have to say that it’s drinking. J Secondly, I love going to museums. In each city that we make a stop in, we try to do something educational and visit an art gallery or do something cultural. (Gavin says that we pick the gems of each location, which I’d have to agree with.) We visited the Getty in Los Angeles, the Field Museum in Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Smithsonian in Washington DC and in London we had to check out the British Museum and National Gallery. The United States has some of the world’s premier museums, but there’s something to be said about a collection that dates back hundreds of years. I mean, you can’t even think of acquiring some of the antiquities that the British have in their collection. I’m not condoning how many of these items had come to rest in their hands, but I am happy that I can see them … for free. Talk about massively Creating Value™.

The most stunning thing about both the British Museum and the National Gallery is that they have entire collections of artifacts or paintings from a classic artist or time period. When most museums would be happy to have ONE mummy, the British Museum has about a dozen. When some galleries would be glad to possess a painting Well the British Museum has about a dozen. No joke!

Probably the most popular of all items in the collection would be the Rosetta Stone. If you’re not familiar with this very important artifact, it allowed linguists to translate ancient Egyptian writing into English (or French or some other modern language). For more detailed info, I suggest you look it up.

British Museum

Aug 29, 2006 - 9 Photos

A Boy Named Ryan Robertson

It was a year ago when I got the call from Seattle that a dear friend has passed. How could someone who meant so much to me and also someone who I really looked up to suddenly be gone at such a young age? Now I stand here one year later and I am still filled with the same questions and feelings which still linger. I miss you now just as much as I ever did and wonder how you were always able to cast your spell on me and leave me just as (if not more) bewildered than I ever have been before.

I Love London

London has always been my favourite (notice the spelling?) city in the entire world. From my first visit back in 2000 until now, I have continued to fall deeper in love with this cosmopolitian metropolis.

I believe in Love at First Sight (re: G MacElwee) and I subscribe to the fact that you you really don't get a second chance to make a first impression. The point I am trying to make is that London is my kind of place and don't be surprised if I somehow manage to live here sometime in the near future.

So back to our trip to London.

It all started out with a fabulous flight from Washington DC to London Heathrow on United Airlines. We were lucky enough to get upgraded to business class, and honey, let me tell you that there are not better ways to jump the pond than sitting in the front of a Boeing 777. From the get-go, we were poppin the bubbly and wondering how our lives could get any better (my head is getting very big now!).

In my opinion, London is one of the few truly cosmopolitan cities (New York being another, but after 6 weeks of the Big Apple, I realized that I couldn't live there). London has a way of making me feel urban without all the hustle and bustle of a big US city. I'm not sure if it's the near-constant cloud cover or the open acceptance of social drinking, but London has cast her spell on me and I am her's for the taking!

Check out my picture album from our trip to London and hopefully you will understand why I love this city so.

London

Aug 29, 2006 - 28 Photos

3 England Blogs Combined into One!

Manchester. United.

After 10 amazing days in the city of London, Gavin and I said good-bye and made the journey north to England’s second city, Manchester. We watched London get smaller as we got further away from the city and got to experience the beautiful English countryside. Once in Manchester, we were met by my friend Steve who I have known since 2000. We met when both of us had made plans to visit Sydney and had stayed in touch since. I was quite excited to finally get the chance to visit him in his hometown and to see another part of England, since this was the fourth time that I have been to London but never have I been outside of the city.

England’s second city, Manchester is a vastly different from London. I compare to London to New York for its vast size and multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan feel, where Manchester is a lot like Chicago. It’s large in size, it played a large role in industrial development of the country and now has changed direction and focus in keeping up with the times.

With a great public transport and a ton of new buildings (the IRA blew out a huge chunk of the city center in 1996), Manchester has a very different feel from other English cities. It’s city center was easily walkable and as long as you have your umbrella handy (it rains a LOT here), you’re ready to see the sights. The city’s gay district, The Village, and specifically Canal Street (as seen in the UK version of Queer as Folk) welcome you with open arms and a large selection of restaurants, bars and clubs to choose from.

Overall, I found the city of Manchester and it’s people to be very laid back and welcoming. The boys were a bit reserved compared to those in London, but also eager to meet visitors to their beautiful city.

I’m so Lucky, but I don’t even truly realize it.

For my 20th birthday, my father flew up to Seattle, where I was living at the time, and took me to Memphis, Tennessee to pay homage to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Any true fan of the King would give their left arm for this opportunity, but I have to say that it was almost entirely lost on me. Yes, I was blown away by the lavish lifestyle in which he lived and by the over-the-top style in which Graceland was decorated, but other than that … nil.

Yesterday, Gavin and I took the train from Manchester to the beautiful English port town of Liverpool as part of the rock and roll pilgrimage that I have been so lucky to be part of, yet not truly appreciate. Sure, I know who the Beatles were and how could I not know a handful of their songs, but you have to admit that any true Beatle fan would be beside him or herself for the opportunity to have a beer at the Cavern (where the Beatles played 287 gigs before making it big) or for the chance to walk down the same streets that they Fab 4 sang about.

If someone out there is reading this and beating their head against their monitor out of frustration, please do send me an email and let me know how big of a fan you really are.

The Merry Men

On Tuesday afternoon, Gavin and I said good-bye to Manchester and boarded our two car train and headed east towards Nottingham. Made famous from the tales of Robin Hood, Nottingham is a quaint English city that has managed to keep up quite nicely with the changing times. A light-rail tram easily navigates through the city’s narrow streets and the architecture is a lovely blend of old and new (Nottingham got bombed a total of 11 times in five years during WWII, which is a lot less than other cities in England.) Unlike London and Manchester, Nottingham has a few hills which makes for an entirely different feel. Modern pubs and coffee shops dot the easily navigated city centre and we were blessed with two days of sunshine and summer-like temperatures.

Obviously a tourist destination, Nottingham has many attractions which try to get would-be tourists to spend their cash to learn more about Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. As loyal readers of my blog would know, Gavin and I continue to Create ValueÔ and find alternative ways to not pay the admission fee and still have a proper Nottingham experience. This means, we stood outside of Nottingham Castle and peered through the fence or giving what we thought was fare for us to see the churches instead of giving the “suggested donation”. Call us cheap, but we are on a mission to see as much of this world as possible and the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the GB Pound is at an all time high.

The one attraction that we did spring for and pay the full price was the City of Caves which is located under the local Westfield Shopping Mall (damn Aussies!). For £4.50 we got a tour and history lesson for a few of the caves that lie beneath Nottingham. We found out that over the past millennium these caves were used for tanning leather to cesspools for human waste to bomb shelters during WWII. Gavin and I give this tour Four Thumbs Up and recommend it to anyone who visits Nottingham.



View The Pics!

England

Aug 29, 2006 - 10 Photos

Trying Something New

If you have the bandwidth and the curiosity to see a few pics ...

check this shit out!

Ireland

Sep 8, 2006 - 18 Photos

Hey Keau, Why the sudden increase in blog entries?

Those of you out there in DigitalGlamNation who have been sending me countless emails wondering why I haven’t been updating my blog as often as I used to will now be happy to know that I have found a renewed inspiration and method for tapping into my creativity. Before I divulge my sources, I need to give you a quick history lesson on my blogging habits.

When I first started Digital Glam in late 2005, I was doing it out of sheer boredom. It was therapeutic for me to visit the burn lounge and spend a quiet Sunday evening with the computer, a glass of wine and just me and my thoughts. I was working long weeks and spending my entire weekend with Gavin, so Sunday’s were a time for reflection and introspective thought.

When I moved in with Gavin (in October of 2005) and started this voyage (April 2006), I had to make time to sit in a quiet area and find the inspiration to write about my thoughts and what we’ve been up to. At first it was easy, but as we got busier and busier and access to the internet became harder to find, it became a bit more challenging to update the blog until I just got too lazy to do so.

Busted!

Ok, so that wasn’t what you wanted to hear, I know. So what I’ve decided to do is instead of taking the time to format my pictures, upload them and then link them to my blog, I’m going to upload just a few that are pertinent to the entry and then provide you with a link to my wonderful Gooogle Web-Album so you can see more pictures from our trip.

Like always, if you really enjoyed a blog entry or want to know more about a particular segment , please email me and let me know. I probably can share a story or two that I didn’t feel was appropriate for the public. J

I’d like to thank Jeff H, Jason S, my mom, Graham P, Ryan H and everyone else that has inspired me to continue blabbing about our little adventures. Honestly, it begins to feel a bit trite to write about what we do, but knowing that someone out there reads this stuff makes me happier than you’ll ever know.

Oh, and comments are always welcome!!