Celeb sighting: le maire

I spent the entire day at a conference about corporate sustainability, trying to stay awake and engaged. It's not that it was a particularly bad conference, it's just that I am a particularly sleepy panda. I also feel like I'm so new in my role that I didn't have anything to contribute or enough context for some of the conversations. So, I was more in listen mode than anything else.

At lunch, San Francisco's mayor Gavin Newsom addressed the crowd of corporate folks. I'd never seen the mayor before and I must admit that he's a very good speaker. He seemed casual, articulate and focused without coming across as scripted or inauthentic. Plus, he really seemed to know what he was talking about - always a plus.

I also have to admit that I spent a lot of time staring at his hair and wondering exactly how he gets it all to stay in place like that.

Social Saturday

Last night Puppy and I went to a part of San Francisco neither of us had ever visited before. It wasn't terribly far away, but it felt like a completely different city altogether. Kind of like being in the suburbs!

We visited Work It and Animatrix to check out the beautiful new home they recently bought and to hear about their remodeling tales. After a tour and a glass of wine, we headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Little did we know that it was a sister restaurant to a Castro establishment we've been to - and that they have essentially the same menu! I, of course, went off-diet and indulged in two forms of carbs - mac & cheese and potatoes au gratin. One of these days, I'm going to take my diet seriously.

Afterward, we met up with Periwinkle for a few drinks. After vetoing a bar that was approximately 4 million degrees, we ended up at a karaoke establishment that featured a lovely bubble wall decoration and fake torches that kept going out. Some of the singers were pretty good, but others were ... not. I guess that's to be expected at karaoke and they all had more cojones than I did since they were up on stage singing!

We wrapped up the evening on the back porch of a bar, enjoying the rare warm San Francisco night, then headed home to snooze.

10 favorite albums

Puppy challenged me to list my "top ten favorite albums of all time" yesterday and I've been thinking about this list for several hours. He gave me the following reasonable qualification and sent me off: "For purposes of this task, the word "favorite" does not mean "best." For instance, Radiohead's "the bends" may be their best work but not your favorite album of theirs."

Many songs came to my mind, but not many albums. And of course on the short list were titles by Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, The Pixies, Joy Division, Pearl Jam and even Danity Kane, but I decided these would be my top ten (At least for now. I'm a changeable panda.):

10. Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson - To be fair, this was nearly a tie with Whitney Houston's debut album. But I remember riding in a bus on the way home from a swim meet in Reno and listening to this album non-stop on my Sony Walkman (the yellow sports variety, of course) and when a certain hunky high schooler defended my choice of music to a particularly insulting teammate, I was smitten. Plus, the video for "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" was uber-sexy.

9. Faith, George Michael - Boy did I crave getting my ear pierced and wearing a cross earring in it! I remember sitting in the back of the classroom, giggling with my friends as we read the lyrics to "I Want Your Sex" and thinking we were so rebellious!

8. Post, Bjork - She was the first person I ever saw in concert (when she was with The Sugarcubes) and I've continued to love her since. Truthfully, this and Debut sort of merged into one album for me but the video for "It's Oh So Quiet" is so fun and bouncy and ... unexpected.

7. Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos - Something about her voice on "Crucify" can still give me chills to this day. And for some reason, I found it much easier to write papers in high school and college while this album played in the background.

6. Live Through This, Hole - The last track of this album, "Rock Star," was one that I loved to blast and sing along with over and over again during some angsty moments in high school. I also remember listening to this in the car with SameBrain and she always made me skip a certain track that she found offensive.

5. Metallica, Metallica - Every single song on this album was awesome, especially "The Unforgiven." And we had a running joke about how Metallica should cover "My Lovin'" by En Vogue.

4. Singles, The Smiths - I don't know if it's fair to include a greatest hits album, but I'm doing it anyway because I had a poster of Morrissey in my dorm room when I was a freshman in college and I think every proper gay boy of the '80s could appreciate the melodious angst of The Smiths. Plus, the intro to "How Soon Is Now" still gives me the goosebumps.

3. Baby One More Time, Britney Spears - I love me my cutesy teenage girl-woman singers and Britney is the ultimate! Although this obsession began with Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, Britney brought it to a whole new level and "Born to Make You Happy" is still a frequently played song on my iPod.

2. The Immaculate Collection, Madonna - I'm surprised this CD even survived college, where it was played to death at every single swim team party (among other important occasions). The weird, screechy interlude in "Like a Prayer" irritated me at first, but I grew to love it.

1. Siamese Dream, Smashing Pumpkins - I was obsessed with this album in late high school and was thrilled to finally see Billy Corgan and friends perform live during my senior year. This may be a bit morose, but I had a vivid plan to end my life very dramatically and "Disarm" would be blasting through my home when my poor family would stumble upon my lifeless, teenage body.

So, there you have it. My ten favorite albums. As you can tell, it's as much about the memories as it is about the songs. Any surprises? Any startling omissions? Comment away and let me know yours!

"Physically, I was born a male"

Ugh. I spent two hours last night watching the season premiere of America's Next Top Model. Why can't I wean myself off this horrible, horrible Tyra Banks ego-boost?

Since it's so early in the competition, there's a glut of contestants and I can't tell who I'm really rooting for, but a few stand out. Everyone seems to be abuzz about Isis, the transgender contestant who really does take some fantastic pictures. Puppy and I were both pleased to see one of the three Brittanys get the boot, thanks to her horrible personality. Selives reports that he's gunning for Clark, the bitchy Southern belle. I kind of found Marjorie's overwhelming nerves and awkwardness to be charming.

But really, what is up with the whole "future" theme (and Mr. J's terrible hair)? And slapping "Eco Friendly Is Fierce" on a bus doesn't make this show environmentally sustainable! Plus, it's like even Tyra can't even take this show seriously anymore. It's camp overdrive.

Al fresco feasting

The weather has been so lovely in San Francisco, and last night proved to be too irresistible to stay in. Dyson, GarGar and I went to Ducca for its weekly Wednesday night outdoor barbeque and enjoyed some roast pork and barbeque octopus for dinner. It's become quite a popular attraction, and since they don't take reservations, Dyson and I hovered around tables that looked like they were nearing the completion of their meals and pounced on one as soon as they received their bill. GarGar had just returned from a trip to Spain and Morocco, so it was nice to hear all about his travels while sipping on wine in the cool evening air.

It was Juanita MORE's birthday celebration last night so after dinner we met up with Mahogany Sparkle, Roommates A&J and Blanca, who had been picnicking in Dolores Park. As expected, the celebration was joyous and merry, with free-flowing booze and carefree boys. Kitten and Puppy also showed up, so we spent much time taking glamour shots in the back room, against the Dior-themed backdrop.

90210

Unsurprisingly, I spent last night watching the series premiere of 90210, the modern-day spin-off of Beverly Hills: 90210. In my youth, I did follow the high school adventures of Brenda and Brandon Walsh, Kelly Taylor, Dylan McKay and Donna Martin for the first few years, but I was not a loyal viewer. It's spin-off, Melrose Place, however, did keep me fully engrossed throughout its melodramatic run.

It was nice to see that the new 90210 retains some of its adolescent, moralistic storylines and didn't try to take Gossip Girl to the West Coast. You can already see that 90210 has laid the groundwork for issues-based episodes around drug addiction, parental control, academic stress, etc. I only wonder how soon it will descend into the over-the-top soap opera of the original. Does anyone remember when they introduced Brandon's girlfriend Emily Valentine who slipped him a hit of the drug "euphoria" at a rave and ended up setting a homecoming float on fire?

My favorite moments of last night's show were when they'd give nods to the original. Like having Hannah Zuckerman-Vasquez as the school reporter (and having a teacher ask if the girl is 30 years old), making one character Kelly Taylor's younger sister, and including the fumbling Nat, still proprietor of the Peach Pit. And I do admit that I felt chills when Shannen Doherty appeared, bringing Brenda Walsh back to life!

Furthermore, the inclusion of Jessica Walter as the main teens' drunk grandmother is brilliant! She brings shades of her Lucille Bluth character from Arrested Development back to television - a refreshing addition, indeed.

One minor casting problem I couldn't get over was Rob Estes as the principal/father who brings his family back to his Beverly Hills roots from Kansas. Doesn't anyone realize he was already part of the 90210 universe, as Kyle from Melrose Place? Where is the continuity police?

Labor Day debrief

Oh internets, it's been a busy and fun long weekend for this panda! San Francisco enjoyed an unusually hot weekend and, with no set Labor Day plans, I was free to bop around and enjoy the time off from work. Looking back, nothing really happened, yet a lot happened, so here are some of the highlights:

* Sitting next to a man with an inappropriately loud guffaw at a screening of Hamlet 2 with Puppy.
* Playing a bar video game where you must detect differences in two nearly identical pictures. Pictures of naked ladies making sexy faces at you!
* Running into Throbby, who was back in town from New York and tearing things up in San Francisco.
* Kitten's mom getting a little tipsy and rolling her eyes at her son's antics, including shoving a champagne flute into his mouth.
* Sitting in Mattress and Beetle's backyard, sipping cosmos with Roommates A&J and Selives, who had been evacuated from New Orleans thanks to Hurricane Gustav, dressed in a clown suit.
* Watching a group of Asian girls give each other haircuts and squealing with delight while one of Puppy's friends prepared a delicious dinner.
* Encountering a drag queen dressed as a neon-colored pregnant girl (Bristol Palin?) who was doling out jello shots through hypodermic needles.
* Trying desperately to stay awake for the final Big Top party, only to attend for 30 minutes before returning home to slumber.
* Forcing down a shot of whiskey, courtesy of Dyson's boyfriend.
* A lovely Labor Day brunch at the Beach Chalet, enjoying the view of the beach-goers.
* A drunk Beetle who kept insisting that I blog about certain events, most of which I've forgotten.