gabeanderson.com: life

Vote Today! (politics)

Today is national mid-term election day! Exercise your Constitutional right and privilege and VOTE! The race for control of Congress is going to be a close one, so every vote will really count. Now more than ever it's important to get out the vote.

If you're not sure where to find your polling place, here's one resource. You can also contact your local board of elections office. Or get your polling place at 1-866-MY-VOTE-1.

Mahir: The Original Borat (anecdotes)

In case some of you don't recall, back in the dot-com days of the late 1990s, there was a man from Turkey named Mahir. If you don't remember, just Google Mahir and you'll see hundreds of versions of his famous Welcome to my home page ! Kiss you !!!!!!!!!!!! personal Web site that turned him into the world's first Internet celebrity. And gave many of us lots and lots of laughs as links to the original site and variations of it circulated the early Internet.

Some of us actually had the great fortune of meeting Mahir in person when he toured San Francisco on Wednesday, December 15, 1999 (Wired News: Mahir, Live and in the Flesh). Included here is my photo of Mahir playing his staple sport, ping-pong. Unfortunately, I was too shy at the time to pose in a photo with him. But these really are actual photos of Mahir himself taken by yours truly that memorable night and scanned just this morning for your viewing pleasure (thanks to Jen for digging through our physical photo archives to find these treasures!).

I also have an autographed Mahir t-shirt that I think I will wear tonight when I see Borat in honor of the man who probably inspired it all (thanks, Alex, for the fantastic suggestion!).

Tonight and in the weeks to come as we all head to the theaters to cheer for Borat, think of Mahir. And think of the lawsuit he's bringing against Sascha Baron Cohen for likeness of character (Wired News: Mahir to Borat: I Sue You!). Don't for a second think that Mahir has forgotten his glory days. He remembers the San Francisco Etour.com/Evite party as well as I do:

Borat travels the US, examining American culture. Any memories from your visit in 1999?
I can't forget party about me in San Francisco. Many people kissed me, took my signature, and took picture. America mix culture and big country, but people don't think about other people. They love their own life only and fun-sex-game-drink.

Boing Boing: Borat = Mahir 2.0, but ees niiiice.

Halloween in Albany (photos)

If you're ever invited to a Halloween party that's not officially a costume party, what do you do?

A) Wear your street rags and show up like it's any other party.
B) Ask the host and hostess if it's OK to wear a costume.
C) Wear a costume, get 8 of your homies to dress up, bring along 2 costumes for the host and hostess to wear, and load up the party van 9 deep to bring the costume party with you.

The answer should be clear: C, of course.

And option C is exactly what happened Saturday night for a rockin' good time in Albany at Alex and Cati's pad. The host and hostess were pirates, the wigs were in abundance, and the Saratoga party van was chock-full of the Halloween spirit: Vamptessa (Jen), H.I. and Edwina 'Ed' McDunnough (Hugh and Jami), Cati (Sarah), Alex (Eric), Angel Girl (Alexis), Pocahontas (Kara), Disco Guy (Justin), and the Ninja (yours truly). The party van was so full that the rear end scraped on our way out of the driveway.

Little did we know that there would be at least twice as many people at the party that night -- not in costume -- but the members of the party van didn't care. We owned our alter egos and partied the night away. Big thanks to Alex and Cati for the great drinks, delicious food, and natural hospitality! And to Jen for navigating the party van safely home. You guys rock.

View all Halloween in Albany photos on Flickr

By the way, there are some additional photos from Saturday night that aren't fit for public consumption, so if you want the full batch and know me, drop me a line for the link.

SF Trip 2006 (photos)

San Francisco is my home away from home. And I'm fortunate enough to make it there at least once per year. This year was no exception, as I spent a few action-packed days there earlier this month. It was a work trip, but I managed to have lots of fun. You see, I'm lucky enough to have awesome friends and family on both sides of this country.

I hit all the usual spots -- Juan's, House of Nanking, Zeitgeist, Naan 'n Curry, 4th Street Grill -- as well as a few new spots -- Jupiter (I'd been there before, but not a usual hangout) and Beckett's (both in Berkeley), and Calzone's (delicious Italian place with the white and black tile sidewalk in North Beach) -- and had one hell of a trip. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Jen could've joined me.

As always, it was so great to see everyone, and I only wish it were more often. Of course, visiting only once to thrice per year makes each visit that much more special. Spending time with my brother Pete, my uncle Michael, my cousin Lucy & Sam, and so many good friends -- James & Melissa, Enoch & Jackie, Ben, Megan & Rob, Jeanine, Tiff & Miguel, Jevaun, Rene & Ryan, Dustin & Jen, Mark (and even his parents), and Jordan -- made for an unforgettable trip.

I even saw Train and Colin Powell.

Finally, I'm not one to brag, but the writing was on the wall at Zeitgeist -- Gabe Rock.

View all SF Trip 2006 photos on Flickr

Previous SF trips since moving to Saratoga Springs:

• 2004: SF Trip I
  
• 2004: SF Trip II
  
• 2005: SF Trip I
  
• 2005: SF Trip II
  
• 2005: SF Trip III

Urinetown (saratoga springs)

I don't like musicals. And for some reason I usually have a hard time staying awake for any kind of live performance. Bill Maher in Albany earlier this month is an exception to the latter, and Home Made Theater's hilarious and well-crafted production of Urinetown is an exception to both.

Last night following dinner at the Principesa Elena Italian Men's Club, Jen and I headed to Saratoga's theater in the park to see Urinetown. Earlier this week I was somehow able to score front-row tickets to the sold-out show. It was the first time either of us had sat in the front row for any show, so that was a whole new experience, too. It really felt like we were part of the action. In some scenes, the characters actually jumped down onto the floor right in front of us, so that was surreal.

Anyway, Urinetown is a musical that pokes fun at other musicals. And since I'm not really a musical fan, I only got a couple of the references. But even so, the show is hilarious on its own.

Urinetown is the story of a struggle between rich and poor -- in a place and time where the poor pay the rich to pee in public amenity #9. It's also the story of depleting resources -- there's not enough water to go around, and the show takes place following a major drought. So there are also some important social undercurrents in the show.

With song titles like "Privilege To Pee" and "Don't Be the Bunny," the show is non-stop fun and an evening of laughs.

If you live here in Saratoga Springs, go see the show while you still can! You'll also be supporting great local theater.

Congrats to the entire cast and crew who put on this great production!

Blogging & Brrr... (saratoga springs)

When I walked into the Saratoga Steeplechasers meeting last night, I was greeted by Elisa and Matt with enthusiastic cheers and praise that I had finally blogged again after having that stupid gabeanderson wannabe Google logo on my blog for nearly two weeks. Just a few days before, Jen and Sarah had both told me the same thing -- "When the hell are you going to blog again?? I'm tired of that damn logo!"

So first of all, I apologize, dear readers, for my terrible dry period. For the four of you who gave me a hard time for slacking and such a great welcome back to blogging, there are probably others of you who feel that way but didn't say anything. I will try my best not to let you down again. Seriously, though, it is a really good feeling to know I have so many wonderful friends who care enough about what I write and post to check my blog so eagerly. That gives me the warm fuzzies.

And speaking of warm fuzzies, fall is suddenly here! The treemometer has dipped to the high 30s and low 40s in the mornings lately, and the transition to winter mode has begun. (I'm fighting off a sore throat with regular intake of Vitamin C and Echinacea, the immunity-boosting herb that Nana swore by.) Last night we hauled the upstairs bedroom air conditioners down to the basement. On October 6, just before I left for SF, we turned on the heater for the first time of the season (annual cleaning/service scheduled for Thursday). This morning I brought up from the basement two storage bins of winter/ski stuff. And I wore a scarf (and gloves) to walk the dogs this morning.

The beautiful leaves are changing colors and falling. When I got home from SF last week, I was shocked to see the huge snowbank-like piles of leaves lining our street. Here are some pictures from outside my house on October 4:

Bon Voyage, Dad! (anecdotes)

He blogs! Once one falls out of the blogging routine, it's hard to get back into it. As has been the theme of my blog lately, there's much to say and much to catch up on (and I know my fans have been wanting a post, so you got it!). I've been to San Francisco and back since I last blogged -- more on that later -- but for now, I want to bid my Dad a safe journey back to California.

After an extended 15-month visit here in Saratoga Springs, my Dad decided that the Northeast just wasn't for him. And I can understand that. The winters are damn cold and just aren't for everyone. He did enjoy his time here -- Jen and I will never forget all the dinners and movies and Scrabble nights -- and he was a rock star at work, where his friends and coworkers appreciated and admired him. He met people with a California or Bay Area connection nearly every night, and had the most unusual run-ins that he never could have predicted ("Oh, you know former California Governor George Deukmejian, too? Let me get him on the phone so you can say hi").

My Dad hit the road yesterday to begin the 3,000-mile journey west. We went out to brunch and had a send-off full of smiles and laughs. My mother-in-law came to the goodbye gathering, as did Hugh and Jami. My Dad touched a lot of lives during his time here, and although it wasn't always easy, I think it brought us closer together. My Dad has always been a good friend, but the past year has made that more true than ever. And man, does time fly.

I'm really glad my Dad decided to embark on his Saratoga adventure, but I know being in the Bay Area is what makes him happy. Even more deeply than me, my Dad is a Californian at heart -- he was the first baby to be born in Greenbrae, Marin County, California in 1947 -- and the Bay Area is his home.

Now I just have one more reason to visit the Bay Area, my home away from home.

Custom Google Logo (web stuff)

Oh look! My own Google search.

You can get your own here right here.

(Thanks, NYT!)

Bill Maher in Albany (photos)

Friday night we had a full crew for the Bill Maher show at the Palace in Albany. We loaded up the party van and rolled 7-deep to the Palace. The party posse included me, Jen, Hugh, Jami, Justin, Amy, and Carla. And Bill Maher was simply awesome.

Maher talked for nearly 2 hours non-stop, touching on everything from his idea for a "Fly at Your Own Risk Airline" ("arrive 5 minutes before take-off, pay cash, bring guns and whatever else you want on board - your boarding pass says 'Shit Happens'") to the Christian Right (he read selections from Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Life -- "Your goal in life is to make God smile") to addressing his critics' charge for hating America first thing in the morning ("No, first I have my coffee, then I burn a flag and perform 5 abortions, then by 2:30 or so I'm ready to hate America") to the second in command at the FDA (who says that women should pray their PMS away -- "How's that working out for you, ladies of the greater Albany area?") to how people unquestioningly say that the Lord works in mysterious ways ("just like the microwave").

We were laughing non-stop and my face hurt after the show.

At the show and elsewhere throughout the night, we kept running into the crew from SheVibe.com, who were wearing their Bill Maher for President t-shirts.

After the show we hit the Pump Station and then McGeary's for some drinks. It was a rockin' good night.

View all Bill Maher photos on Flickr

Attention Liberals: Please Breed (politics)

Mark Morford / SFGate: Attention Liberals: Please Breed / Conservatives are outbirthing libs by a wide margin. How soon can you get knocked up?

Let this be your rallying cry. Let it be your new hot-button topic, a raw naked condomless blog-ready wildfire underground grassroots crusade, your juiciest of incentive programs, your inspired call to hot naked impregnable sperm-a-riffic action.

Because the statistics are ugly, getting uglier: Despite all divine hope and prayer to the contrary, it looks like baby-happy conservatives are outbreeding liberals by a margin of some 20 to 40 percent.

It's a fact. It's a trend. It's an onslaught. It's a dreadful soul-curdling predicament and the reasons for the Republican baby blitz are myriad, having to do with the lethal Christian belief that God really wants big narcotized families and birth control is a sin and, well, what the hell else are social conservatives gonna do with all that oily Halliburton stock and Lockheed Martin profit? Donate to charity? Buy some Implanon? Save the planet? Ha.

...

Not to mention the thing about progressive city dwellers generally possessing higher intelligence, better educations, a more nuanced understanding of the world. Translation: We tend to think that if God wants anything at all, She wants free birth control and fewer warmongering cretins and the wild uncontrolled spread of unconditional nondenominational love of a kind that doesn't necessarily require a diaper and a burp blanket and a college fund. I'm just saying.

I am willing to go even further. Pending the necessary venture capital, I shall open the Mark Morford Summer Camp for Luminous Toddlers. Here is where kids will learn the fine arts of archery, yoga, organic farming, naughty Spanish slang, frat-boy incapacitation techniques, sake classifications, Fox News Neocon Bull-- Detection, how to properly tune a Fender Strat, and how to look at breeding Christian conservatives and laugh and shrug and offer them a drink and a vibrator and a copy of "Jitterbug Perfume" and a polyamorous weekend in Sonoma.

Jesus Camp