Neptune Landing

After a 3-year-closed-renovation, the SFMOMA is back in action, featuring the work of the late Bruce Conner, one of the country's most daring artists of the mid-20th century. Conner, a sculptor who hung with the Beats, was also one of San Francisco's biggest fans. His exhibit, "It's All True," runs through January 22nd. On Black Friday, Mauricio and I were able to score free tickets (Thanks, Heather!!) for the newly-renovated behemoth which sits at 3rd and Mission Streets near Montgomery BART station. 2,700 tickets had been purchased for that day but we arrived on the earlier end and were able to focus, unmolested, on the 4th and 6th floors. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is now the nation's largest art museum , clocking in at 460,000 square footage of museum space. For best results, don't attempt to devour the whole institution in one day. Deeply disturbed by nuclear annihilation and the violent tendencies of America, a lot of Conner's

Inspiration (from the Latin inspiratus or "breathe into") requires an element of surprise. It works best in the least likely of places and through the least likely of people. Hillary Rodham Clinton may be an unlikely figure for inspiration considering her inability to campaign in poetry. In fact, we can rest assured that she'll govern just as she has campaigned: in prose, a no-nonsense prose that leaves little room for hot air. This is why she has her star-studded surrogates out spinning yarns in iambic pentameter. Think about it: she's got Bill, Bernie, Obama, Michelle, Bruce and Katy as the bards by her side. So why am I turned on by her banal and sober speech? The key is respect. She doesn't feign splash because she can't pull it off. It's not her style and she owns it. Just compare Hill to her opponent, a towering figure comprised of all style and no substance. Ironic then that I found substance in a flashy place. For this weekend I, along with

      The massacre this time around is personal. For many LGBT folks, this is a nightmare that we could not even imagine; being picked off in our safe ancestral home much like the black churchgoers were during bible study in Charleston a little over one year ago today. Not only was it infuriating that political leaders didn't lift a finger to tighten gun access after the Charleston massacre but that political hacks reverted to the same know-nothing approach after events as equally hideous and unconscionable in Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech and San Bernardino and Colorado Springs and Aurora and [insert tragic geographical location here].       This time, however, the gun lobby has awoken a sleeping giant, one who may not be as rich but who is as meticulously organized . We like to think of ourselves as more pleasant guests at any cocktail party or political rally. This is our coming out party, a way for the LGBT community to truly grow up and give back in shaping ideas around p

      Boosterism is the art of propping up a municipality when all the metrics point against living or doing business there. Boosters come up with all sorts of reasons why you too should adore their beloved and decrepit hometowns. If anything, San Francisco suffers from the opposite problem; it's a city of anti-boosters, one that prefers neither promotion nor introduction. Many old-timers, in fact, wish to stop the eager and curious from pitching tent here, a reaction I've noticed in other West Coast boom towns like Portland and Seattle. Many seekers do come here for a short while before turning around. It's an obligatory pit-stop for many American dreamers.       What for me started as a cross-country experiment has slowly turned into my life. March 21st marked my four years here in San Francisco and last Tuesday I turned 37. While this may not make me an absolute sage about the inner workings of Fog City, I have been paying some attention to the wild parrots squawking ar

      The most indie night I've had in weeks was at Smack Dab , a monthly-open-mic-night that has been running since 2003. While I've popped into other open-mics scattered around the city, Smack Dab was certainly the best-organized and best-lit. Its new location is on the second floor of Strut at 470 Castro Street, the public health clinic smack dab in the Castro (disclosure: I am NOT getting paid by Strut; I just think it's a healthy and interesting new space). Open-mic participants seemed to rally around the theme of public health, praising Magnet (now Strut) at every available turn. The take-away is that Smack Dab is a sober and perky addition to a scene that takes place most often in dim and dank watering holes.       Facilitated by hosts Larry-Bob, who also keeps the  SF Queer List Serve , and Dana Hopkins, promoter-extraordinarie, Smack Dab brings together some of the queerest and wackiest independent acts in the Bay. The level of talent stretches from writers re

      The fun and flirty Castro neighborhood has a new arrival. Named " Strut ," the 3-floor-edifice at 470 Castro Street is the fresh home of salubrious health for San Francisco's community of gay, bisexual and transgender men. Strut shares the same building that houses Blush, the Wine Bar, where just two doors down is the corner Walgreens, which is perfect for those patients who need to use the pharmacy (one of the few things that Strut does not contain on-campus). Neptune Landing was able to chat with Matthew Denckla, a long-time public health activist and board member of both Strut and its benefactor, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, about the building's inception and how it's a game-changer for SF's queer community.   Strut Exterior       First, the basics: Strut is a larger, enhanced version of the old Magnet, Castro's drop-in-clinic for gay, bi and trans men's sexual health. Like Magnet, Strut is an invented name. The idea for Strut b