We’re off to Vegas this weekend.

SG has a Bowling Tournament…yeah, you can take the trash out of the trailer but you can’t take the trailer out of the trash (snort). Hey, it’s the social thing for him. Friday we drive up, probably do sushi Fri. night and call it early. SG bowls at noon on Sat. and we come home on Sun. If I’d had enough notice, I’d have arranged a book signing…oh well.

Sat. night were going to see John Pinette. I’ll post photos when I get back.

As we do every year we walked over to the Rose Parade route. A couple bacon wrapped LA street dogs and a bit of cotton candy while watching some of the best float and bands. We managed to get a pretty good spot.  A few of my favorite floats and groups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, ’cause even here in So.Cal. we’re looking for some summer…the most alternative beach on the pacific coast where the number of beach wear and tourist junk shops are now outnumbered by medical marijuana clinics.

Venice Beach 1

Long view of Venice Beach

 

Medical Marijuana shop at Venice

Medical Marijuana shop at Venice

The other historic station at the terminus of the Coastliner line. Smaller than the LA Station, but just as charming.

Santa Fe Station San Diego

Santa Fe Station San Diego

From one of the shops…rather fitting for the season. A display of sugar skulls at the historic Pueblo De Los Angeles…what we just call Olivera Street:

Calaveras at Olivera Street

Calaveras

James, Marshall at get bookedSo the reading/signing at the Get Booked booth at Vegas Pride turned into more of just a meet and greet. We were too close to the stage to read. Still it was fun. Marshall Thornton is delightful and it was nice to have an afternoon to spend with him…even if it was 104 in the shade in the freaking parking lot where they held Pride. JP Bowie did not attend because of a health issue (not scary, just orthopedically painful). Sold books, talked to fans and just generally had a good time.Marshall Thronton in Vegas tsyle

The hottie in the swim trunks is an amazing stain glass artist, you can’t see any of his works except for one in the very back, but he had lamps, windows and hanging pieces.

James at Vegas Pride

The other lady in the picture with us makes jewelry. For a sample of her work…see below.

Marshall was in true Vegas summer style, with his super cool sunglasses and fedora.

I wore black and sweated my butt off: That’s my Sugar Skull Marilyn Monroe t-shirt. Got to watch the parade of folks in various stages of not quite dressed. I felt so bad for the Drag Queens and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in their make-up, high-heels and bustiers. They looked miserable.

And the only way you’ll ever get me to wear rainbows (excuse the saturation issue, it was the only way to actually POP the skulls), my new Pride torque.

Pride skulls

Otherwise, Vegas was a nice recharge for us. SG won pretty big, so with the trip write off of gas and such, we’ll be in the positive on this one. We got our room comped, had dinner with a Casino Host (absolutely random, he was at the sushi bar with us… the only three people at the sushi bar and I got to pump him for all sorts of insider info of the kind that helps with stories) and bought the spawn prezzies: a W.S.O.P. chips and card set for one and a sterling lizard pendant with a “silver” natural color pearl for the other -d’ay ain’t cheap shit. If he hadn’t have won big, they’d have gotten a 99c deck of cards and a discount t-shirt.

The Get Booked folks invited me back for an actual reading signing and I’ll have to take them up on that.

and the round of LA County Fair commercials has started. We tend to make fun of ourselves…

Today was IML.OH the flesh, the smell of leather, the perfume of sweat and excitement. It appears as though I’ve broken L.A. Witt’s cherry yet again…as she’s never been to a leather event.  Dr. Frantz and I had great fun showing her the sights, explaining various gadgets and guiding her to live demonstrations of vacuum bondage cubes, fucking harnesses and suspension rigs. Sarah & Screwing around with leather masks

It’s a large venue, the conference takes over the Chicago Hyatt completely — reserved for that event only. Some poor couple apparently parked in the garage, unaware of the partial nudity, bondage gear and fetish wear parading around the hotel and had to escort their child through with hands firmly clamped over her eyes. There’s no junk hanging out unless you’re at an event or in the vendor room (they card), but there is a great deal of sweaty man chest and butt crack on display.

Any way, we had great fun looking at all the pretties to be had. Paddles, whips, Tom of Finland Art. I got a t-shirt and patch and such…souvenirs as it were. Sarah kept going for bracelets and wrist bands. I did buy a leather cuff for myself, one that is actually a two layer affair, so that the inner part can act as a cash wallet…b/c when you’re in chaps and a jock strap, WTF do you do with your cash. Problem now solved.

I bought two treasures to use on my guy. A hard rubber Sjambok, the traditional “whip” of South Africa. I have Sarah Frantz to thank for pointing it out to me…she move to the states from South Africa as a teen.  Think of it as a slightly more flexible riot baton — which is what the hard-rubber and plastic versions are used for in S.A.  The other fun toy was a vibrating sound. Yeah, we’re going to have fun when I get home.

We went to the Purple Pig for dinner. Their slogan is Cheese, Wine and Swine. I had fried chorizo stuffed olives and milk braise pork shoulder for dinner. It was very good.

Tomorrow I head home. It’s been loads of fun, but I’m ready to be back in So.Cal.

My haul:

Well we didn’t have any firm plans for the day.  I wrote for a while in the morning, finishing another chapter of the third Joe & Kabe book.  Around lunch time Sarah Frantz and I met to go do a little sight seeing. Our first stop was the Leather Archives & Museum. this is one of their videos from YouTube. Various ones play throughout the museum.

My favorite item was the statute of Anubis from this collection. Various male figures with mythical overtones in metal.  It’s a nice, but rather small museum.  We had a nice chat with the guy at the desk and what they expected to happen this IML weekend.Whaam

Then we headed over to the Art Institute of Chicago for the Roy Lichtenstein exhibit. You’ve seen his work, but there is no way to really appreciate it until you’re standing in front of these huge canvases and taking in the detail. the guy at the Leather Archives suggested it. My favorite piece wasn’t in the Lichtenstein exhibit, it was this one:
It’s called the Black Monk and you’re viewing the statute in front of a window of sunlight so that he’s indistinct and very evocative.

Then, for the evening, we grabbed L.A. Witt and headed over to Touche (the local bear wateringhole) for a Shibari Demonstration by Michael Sol. He’d invited us the previous day at CARAS. We’d actually got there way early and so, on a recommendation by Daddy Sky, went over to Portal for a drink. Very nice knot work. Talked with a lot of great guys and had fun.  No, no pictures, this was not the venue for that folks.

Now I’m heading out to IML with L.A. Witt and Sarah Frantz.

So last night after a stopover in Vegas, I got on my flight to the Windy City. No drink service b/c it was so freaking turbulent that the captain ordered the flight attendants to strap in. For me, not that big of a deal — the turbulence, not having even water for 4 hours sucked — as I know that the odds of being in a plane crash are infinitesimal, and having been in one, it’s like getting struck twice by lightning. I’m pretty comfortable in the air.  And my seat mates were pleasant enough people all in the same groove, where we’d read our books/kindle/mags for a while and then talk for a while. Best of an unpleasant situation.

Finally, I hit Chicago…at around 1am…made my hotel by around 2am.  I was sweaty, tired, dehydrated and all I wanted was a quick hot shower and a bottle of water. I was too tired to find the vending machine. There was no hot water.  -.-  That is the point where you say F’it and hit the sheets.

Today, much better.  I woke up around 8ish local time then tried the shower again. I wouldn’t call it hot, but it wasn’t ball clenching cold either.  Around lunch time I walked over to the Adler School of Psychology. Dr. Sarah Frantz I’ve known for a while and it was great to see her again.  I got to meet Heidi Cullinan, L.A. Witt and Annabel Joseph for the first time. I also got to meet Edmond Manning in person as well, we’ve talked online many, many times.

The panel went really, really well. I think the audience received it with the right spirit. We got a lot of good questions, that are outside what you normally get asked in author panels.

Then L.A., Edmond and I took off to a coffee shop for free wi-fi and some writing. Lot of fun verbal sparring, we all kinda clicked. It’s nice being around folks where your freak flag doesn’t bother them. Around five we met Heidi and Sarah for Iranian food at Pars Cove. Small place, but

Edmond Manning with "The Companion"

the staff was super nice. I ordered some hummus to start us, and on the house they brought us a bit of their other appetizers as well. They also gave the two of us who didn’t order salad a free lentil soup. The lamb I ordered fell off the bone and tasted just like good lamb should.

After dinner we headed over to the Lambda finalists reading. It was nice. Smallish, but most readings are. I got to meet Marshall Thornton, author of the Boystown series as well.

Marshal Reading

 

L.A. Witt, Hiedi, Edmond and Sarah at Pars Cove

L.A. Reading

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