Mitcham Endorses Gay Games VIII

It should be no surprise, but it's still a sweet coup that the Gay Games got Australian Gold Medal Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham to endorse the quadrennial LGBT sports event, which next takes place in Cologne, Germany in 2010.

Matthew's the only out gay recent Olympic-level champ. It seems like a no-brainer, eh? Well, no. He could have endorsed the (cough, cough, hock a loogie, spit) Outgames.

If you don't understand that reaction, you don't know me and my decade of sports writing, and just stumbled across this blog while looking for more sexy pics of the adorable Mitcham. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Endorsing the Gay Games helps gain interest in the event. Although I have no problem with athletes getting paid to endorse products, particularly LGBT jocks who get snubbed by other companies, it should be noted that previous Gay Games endorsers did not get paid. They did get a few plane fares and hotel stays covered for promotional trips, etc., which Matthew deserves.

But the fact that someone of the stature of Martina Navratilova (here's my interview with her) only endorsed the first Outgames because they did a financial deal with her credit card company says more about her motivations than that of the dozens of LGBT jocks who endorsed the Gay Games unconditionally.

Oh, and Windy City Times ... (yes, the paper of the city that hosted the last Gay Games, and its executive editor and wunderkind Tracy Baim was on the board of Chicago's Gay Games, but unlike a few Canadian gay papers that basically published opinion pieces disguised as fact-based journalism, -here's a good exception, written by Fred Kuhr- WCT differentiates between columns and news articles) ... reports that not only is Son of OutGames losing money, it's cutting sports events.

You can blame the economy or anything else. I blame karma. As good-natured as the Danes are, their event is rooted in the devious theft of a great idea. They were spawned from a rip-off event that became the world's biggest deficit in the entire history of the LGBT movement; not just sports, the entire history of the LGBT out world.

No amount of vituperous personal attacks on me and my writing from the Montrealers has made their event any better. They never disproved any of the facts I had published in my articles. They and their gullible participants only attacked me.

The first Outgames were hatched before they feigned any interest in continuing negotiations with the FGG. That's their biggest lie. The 2nd biggest lie is that Copenhagen "won" the "bid" to host the second Outgames. There were no other bidders.

So, I wish the Danes well with their sports event. But I won't be surprised when they boast false attendance numbers beforehand, and then go bankrupt afterward.

So, it's a great thing that Mitcham, an authentic champion, is endorsing the true Gay Games. With a need for endorsement dollars, had the Outgames the money to lure him, he might have gone with them. But they didn't, and he didn't. And I'm happy.

Califrackinfornia

LIVE: (11am) CNN and local KGO are streaming a street sit-in on Van Ness Ave.

CA Supreme Court upholds Prop 8; 18,000 marriages stand
The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the ballot measure that banned same-sex marriages in the state, by a 6-1 vote Tuesday, May 26. But the seven justices unanimously ruled that the 18,000 marriages that took place during the five months before the ban went into effect last November are still valid under California law.


Prop 8 Upheld by California Supreme Court
The California Supreme Court has upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, but it also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.

The decision Tuesday rejected an argument by gay rights activists that the ban revised the California constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature's approval.

The announcement of the decision caused outcry among a sea of demonstrators who had gathered in front of the San Francisco courthouse awaiting the ruling.


Protesters to engage in civil disobedience if Supreme Court upholds Prop 8

What: In the event that the Supreme Court Upholds Proposition 8.  60 activists, clergy, and community members will engage in civil disobedience until they are arrested by blocking traffic at major intersections near Civic Center in San Francisco, 10:30am Tuesday May 26th.

Where: A major intersection near City Hall–details to be released on the 26th. Group Members will announce the location on the steps of City Hall at 10:30am. 

When: Protest starts at 10:30am, Tuesday May 26th

Who: 60 Activists, Clergy, and Community Members will be arrested for civil disobedience. Hundreds of spectators are expected.

Why: "Separate is never equal," said organizer Kip Williams. "If the CA Supreme Court upholds Prop 8, there will be no guarantee of equal protection for anyone. We' will keep fighting until we have our rights back, and I' will engage in civil disobedience because no one's rights should be stripped away by a simple majority of voters."

The protest will happen with in visual range of city hall and/or supreme court building.

One Struggle, One Fight is a civil rights coalition of LGBT Activists, community members, clergy, and allies who believe that Separate is Never Equal.  The organization formed in response to the passage of prop 8 and has conducted several peaceful non-violent civil disobedient actions in San Francisco and a 6 day March to Sacramento to call for the repeal of Proposition 8.  The organization is dedicated to organizing for civil rights at the intersections of oppression, in communities of color, amongst poor people, calling for immigration reform, and other issues that reflect broader social oppression of marginalized populations.  More info at http://www.onestruggleonefight.com

March, May(be in) November?

Longtime activist David Mixner is calling for a gay March on Washington for marriage rights. He also focuses on the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Having organized a number of major marches in my near 50 years of activism, I don't take this call lightly. Trust me, I know that there are times when such marches are ineffective and poorly timed. Yet, I have also seen them be extremely effective both in message and building momentum within the movement. For the first time, we have the opportunity to have tens of thousands of our straight allies and straight students join us and we should organize the march to make it easy for them to be by our sides.

My experience has taught me the secret to any march is to keep the message simple and to make it easy for others to join. Of course, our best organizers must be enlisted in order to ensure that hundreds of thousands attend in an orderly and safe fashion.

Tapping into my previous work, I would suggest the following for consideration: On the Friday before the march 12,000 (approximately the number of our service people that have been dismissed under DADT) led by our veterans walk single file from the Pentagon to the White House until all 12,000 are across from the White House. Let the nation see visibly how many of our citizens have had their careers destroyed while the military allows convicted felons to serve. I would love to see 12,000 across from the White House chanting "Let US Serve."

One of the lessons from previous marches is that everyone should be on the Mall by no later than 3PM. We should not let logistics prevent people from getting to the Mall or otherwise they won't be counted. Everyone must be present before the evening news has to develop their stories. Each marcher and organizer should be told that every single person has to be on the Mall from 2PM to 3PM in order for us to have a success.

Names Project funder and activist Cleve Jones agrees.

— Have one demand only: “Full Equality Now - full and equal protection under the law for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” Let's stop settling for fractions of equality. Every compromise undermines our humanity. We must declare our equality.

— Organize the march from the grassroots with a decentralized internet-based campaign. Keep it simple; avoid bloated budgets and cumbersome structures. The primary objective must be to turn out the largest possible crowd. We don't need elaborate and expensive staging or fabulous dinner parties and concerts - we need a million or more people in the street demanding equality now.

— Encourage and enlist our allies in the broader progressive movement to build the march. Involve the labor movement, racial, ethnic and immigrant communities, progressive faith leaders, peace and social justice advocates and other supporters. LGBT people of all ages and races recognize the challenges facing our nation and our planet. We are eager to stand, as equals, with our fellow citizens in meeting these challenges.

Jones correctly addresses the problems of previous marches; the power struggles, the money battle, etc. Do you recall the fight Larry Kramer had in even getting onstage in 1993?

While it's nice that Mixner already has aspects of the proposed march choreographed down to specific staged assemblies, I'm not sure what a new one will do.

The 1979 and 1987 marches were historic and led to many new groups being formed. It was needed, and the only major way for LGBT unity, for a time.

I attended the 1993 March, and it was wonderful; empowering, fun, sexy and liberating. I wrote the cover feature article about it for Frontiers magazine.

Yet in a few months after its occurence, Mixner's old pal Bill Clinton gave us antigay policies on marriage and in the military which harm us to this day. Even Uruguay is now more progressive than the U.S. in its military policies.

The 2000 March on Washington turned into an infomercial for PlanetOut and the Human Rights Campaign. I worked for PlanetOut then, and even those articles I wrote have disappeared from PlanetOut's website.

The results, along with a strange case of bags of cash going missing, was the success of HRC in finishing its $8 million office building, PlanetOut overspending through the dotcom boom, and now facing its lowest market value ever. When even the major sponsor of a march refuses to maintain a few web pages as a legacy, what's the purpose of having one?

The group Yes on Gay Marriage has an overview of the history of gay marches on Washington.

But has anyone done their homework on this group? While Mixner allows a post of his march proposal, does he know that Yes on Gay Marriage has been widely dismissed as yet another 501c3 that may clash with other groups' plans? Or that, as the BAR article shows, most other LGBT groups consider another march to be as useful as a "hole in the head."

But more important, Yes on Gay Marriage has dubious origins, and even ties to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign.

Last year, according to data filed with the secretary of state's office, the COPS voter guide paid at least $245,000 to Moran and Associates, which Moran is president of, and at least $105,000 to Barry Wyatt Associates. The California Vote by Mail Voter Guide paid Wyatt's firm at least $15,000 last year.

A source with Protect Marriage who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly said Yes on 8 "did purchase space on Moran's voter guides" and negotiated directly with Moran and another person, whose name wasn't known to them.

The voter guides' card says, "Cops know children raised by a married mother and father have the best chance for success. Proposition 8 strengthens traditional marriage. Yes on 8!"

So, if this kind of group, whose pocketbooks ride both sides of the fence, is going to be "in charge" of a movement toward another march on Washington, please include me out.

If last years -and next week's- Prop 8 protests proved anything, it's that protests can be organized on a regional and national level in a matter of days, with no budget, and with an energized committed group of thousands.

But the impact of those protests is questionable. Iowa's gay marriage ruling happened out of the radar of most activists. Other states shifted because of lawsuits.

California's lawsuit, whose decision will be released on Tuesday, does not look good. Anyone who watched the proceedings saw how enamored the Ca. Supreme Court was of Kenneth Starr's pro-Prop 8 arguments, and how they continually interrupted and dismissed the Lambda Legal lawyers. So, basically, the Supes are flipflopping on their earlier decision, and we face a longer struggle.

Even as the GOP loses ground, we're still getting sidetracked by the alleged administration of "change." The rightwing has nothing, except bashing gays, as Frank Rich eloquently states in his NY Times Op-Ed:

Anyone with half a brain in the incredibly shrinking G.O.P. knows that gay bashing will further dim the party’s already remote chance of recruiting young voters to replenish its aging ranks, much as the right’s immigrant bashing drove away Hispanics. This is why Republican politicians now say they oppose only gay marriage, not gay people, even when it’s blatant that they’re dissembling. Naked homophobia — those campy, fear-mongering National Organization for Marriage ads, for instance — is increasingly unwelcome in a party fighting for survival. The wingnuts don’t even have Dick Cheney on their side on this issue.

A march on Washington will cost money that will be sapped from regional LGBT groups. Marches on Washington take place every weekend, and you hear little about them, if only as a short piece on the weekend news.

A showcase of on-stage celebs may rally support, and provide an amusing vacation for a few thousand who can afford it -mostly East Coast people who can take a bus or train trip- but its impact is questionable.

When the Obama administration, already bogged down with the horrid legacy of the Bushco regime, holds meetings with the likes of Andrew Sullivan, who wrote that Dick Cheney is a "hot daddy," and who fervently disdains hate crimes laws, you know we're getting nothing but centrist lip service.

Sadly, a hundred thousand LGBTs on the Great Lawn won't have an effect. And no doubt Obama's schedule will -oops- include a trip abroad that weekend.

A president who lets a repugnant rightwing preacher say his inaugural invocation, and whose underlings censor a gay pastor at a sidebar event, is not our friend. He's just a lesser adversary.

Harvey History

30 years ago, the White Night riots inflamed San Francisco

Just as today's LGBT community awaits on pins and needles for a court decision on whether voters had the right to rescind marriage rights to same-sex couples through the ballot box, gay residents of San Francisco 30 years ago today (Thursday, May 21) were also anxious to learn about the outcome of another courthouse drama.

And 30 years later, cement-headed schools administrators still want Harvey deleted from history:

School curbs girl's report on gay rights activist Milk

The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego is threatening to sue Ramona school officials after they told a sixth-grader she couldn't present a report on slain gay rights advocate Harvey Milk to fellow students unless their parents signed permission slips.

District officials told Natalie Jones and her parents that a report on Milk fell under the school board's life and sex education policy, which requires parental consent before any instruction on the topics of reproduction and human sexuality.

David Blair-Loy, the ACLU's legal director, said in a letter to district officials yesterday that they violated Natalie's free speech rights.

Natalie, 12, is a student at Mount Woodson Elementary School and did the report last month as part of an independent research project class at the school. Students in the class are required to do PowerPoint projects on a subject of their choosing.

Natalie picked Milk, who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he was elected in 1977 to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. After serving 11 months, Milk was assassinated in a City Hall shooting in November 1978 by Dan White, who had resigned as a supervisor but wanted his job back. White also killed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in the rampage.

The slain supervisor's life was the subject last year of the Academy Award-winning film “Milk,” starring Sean Penn.

The day before Natalie was to present the report in April, she was told by Principal Theresa Grace that she would not be allowed to show her project in class the way other students had done.

Blair-Loy, in his letter to the school district, said the girl was told the subject was “sensitive.” School officials later told the girl's mother, Bonnie Jones, that the presentation only could be shown to students whose parents had signed a permission slip in advance ...

Natalie gave the presentation to about half the class, Blair-Loy said. The ACLU wants the district to apologize to Natalie, send letters “reflecting such apology” to parents who received the school district permission request, let Natalie give the presentation to the whole class and clarify that the board policy applies only to course content for sex-education instruction. The group also wants the district to say situations like this won't happen again.

“We think the school district singled out and discriminated against Natalie's speech because of its content,” Blair-Loy said. “This is not sex education. This is a presentation about Harvey Milk, a historical figure who happened to be gay.”

Bonnie Jones said she was upset and did not understand the district's objection.

“If you look at her presentation, I don't see anything that is wrong with it,” Jones said.

And from this article in the Sacramento Bee:
Bonnie Jones said her daughter was inspired to choose Milk as the subject of her research report after seeing the movie "Milk," which earned Academy Awards for actor Sean Penn and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

"First my daughter got called into the principal's office as if she were in some kind of trouble, and then they treated her presentation like it was something icky," Jones said in a statement.

"Harvey Milk was an elected official in this state and an important person in history," Jones added. "To say my daughter's presentation is sex education because Harvey Milk happened to be gay is completely wrong."

E-Read

Okay, some of you know that despite editing a website as part of my job, running a blog and having learned how to make my own website more than ten years ago, I'm a bit of a Luddite. I don't have a cell phone or a car, and I refuse to Tweet. Ever.

But you may also know that I self-published my three novels, the first the old-fashioned way; print, printers, cartons upon cartons of books, thousands in costs, but thousands more in profit than the subsequent online publishing formats with the subsequent two.

But I'm willing to move into the 21st century. So, after three network news stories and a bunch of Facebook posts from notable author Kemble Scott, I decided to give the new online publishing website, Scribd, a try.

Two hours of converting my third novel Cyclizen into PDF format, then uploading it (slowly) on my nine-year (and therefore incredibly ancient) Mac G3 (Hey, I formatted PINS with Quark 3.0 on a Performa!), I now have my first e-book.

Voila, as they say.

If you're up on the latest form of publishing, and want to download Cyclizen instead of getting a print copy, go for it. Visit Scribd HERE, and get e-reading!

The advantage? I get 80% of the sales. You get it at a discounted $10, and can read it anywhere your little Kimble or laptop goes. Wow, just like a real book.

You're also welcome to buy it in Luddite format, aka a print book, via Lulu, where I self-published it, or from the other online sites like Amazon.com, you know, the one that "accidentally" deleted all gay titles from its listing a few weeks ago.

If you're in San Francisco, you're more than welcome to go the traditional route at Books Inc. on Market St. at Noe, or A Different Light, on Castro Street.

For an even more old-fashioned way of hearing a bit from Cyclizen, I'll be reading out loud in June with members of GuyWriters, as part of the Queer Arts Festival.

The event, “Quilts, Comforters and Bedsheets: Gay Men Write About Love, Relationships and Community,” reflects the theme of this year’s festival – “Threads” – and will feature fabulous queer quilts by award-winning quilter Mac MacNamara as a backdrop for the writers. It's Friday, June 12th, at 7:30 pm in the Ceremonial Room on the 4th Floor of the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street at Octavia Boulevard in San Francisco.

Quilts. Now that's wonderfully old-fashioned.

Maybe next I'll print a book on stone tablets, just to be perverse.

AIBOHP OMOH

It's no small irony that the Russian name for the Moscow Police is a backwards spelling of HOMO. The city has an entirely backwards mayor and an even more backwards police department, which is basically a gang of thugs who harshly assaulted gay protestors at this year's Eurovision contest.

Some 30 campaigners had gathered near a university in defiance of a ban on their march and many were dragged away by police when they shouted slogans.

British gay rights activist, Peter Tatchell, was among those detained.

A counter-demonstration by nationalist and religious groups was allowed to go ahead elsewhere in the Russian capital.

The gay rights group had been waving flags and chanting slogans demanding equal rights and condemning the treatment of gays and lesbians in Russia.

At least 20 were arrested as police moved in to disperse the protest.

As he was being taken away by police, Mr Tatchell shouted: "This shows the Russian people are not free."

Speaking from a police station, he later told the BBC: "The way the police violently broke up our peaceful protest is an indication of a drift toward authoritarianism that is affecting all Russians."

- via the BBC, JoeMyGod and Troubled Diva.

Bigoty bigots cry "bigot!"

Obama Asked To Fire Gay Faith Council Member

Catholic social conservative groups are asking President Obama to fire a gay member of his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

The groups allege that openly gay Harry Knox, director of the religion and faith program at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights advocate, is a “virulent anti-Catholic bigot.”

Among the signatories to a letter addressed to Obama are Bill Donahue, President of the Catholic League, Chuck Donovan, executive vice president of Family Research Council, Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum and Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner.

The groups say Knox is the “hate-filled antithesis” of the Faith Council's objectives.

“Knox is a virulent anti-Catholic bigot, and has made numerous vile and dishonest attacks against the Church and the Holy Father,” the letter says. “He has no business on any Council having to do with faith or religion.”

Backers of the campaign provided U.S. News and World Report Journalist Dan Gilgoff with a list of Knox's alleged offensives. The group's primary objections appear to revolve around Knox's support of the gay and lesbian community, including his defense of a Cheyenne, Wyoming lesbian couple who in 2007 were barred from receiving communion, his criticism of the Vatican's rejection of an United Nations resolution calling for the universal decriminalization of being gay, and his disagreement with Pope Benedict on the efficacy of condoms in controlling AIDS infections.

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I could fill pages with the vitriolic hatred spewed by these demonic alleged "Christians," but the point is, NO religious representatives should be pushing government agendas in the first place. These creeps do nothing but spew hatred against gays. They are obviously the ones who should be turned out on their flat asses. Ofc ourse they want deperately to push their agenda, which means banning gays from everything, from government, to marriage to their tacky little bake sales.

Obama's administration is just getting dumber every day. In a TV interview, columnist/author Dan Savage gave him an "F" for gay rights.

I'd at least give him an incomplete, so far. But even paying lip service to these now nearly powerless religulousities is beyond stupid.

May 14, Bike to Work Day

Last week I found a cell phone on the street.
It was actually a bike messenger's phone/walkie-talkie. I couldn't get it to work and call whomever the owner's friends were. Then I hit the side button and it talked back; i.e., the dispatcher for the bike messenger company talked back.
I gave him my work address and a co-worker of his picked it up, saying the owner might come by and give me a kiss. I asked, "Is he cute?"

Anyway, Thursday is Bike to Work Day, which is a holiday for me Monday through Friday. From SF Bike Coalition:

Hundreds of thousands of people will choose a healthy, green and affordable way to get to work this Thursday, May 14th for the 15th annual Bike to Work Day, which is organized by the 10,000-member San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC). Advocates, city leaders and everyday bicyclists will rally on City Hall steps to show support for projects that will double the number of bike lanes on city streets — a proposal headed to city decision-makers next month.

San Francisco has seen a whopping 43% increase in the number of people bicycling on city streets since 2006, according to a report by the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). This biking trend is sweeping City Hall where at least seven members of the Board of Supervisors, SF MTA Director Nathaniel Ford, SF MTA Board Chairman Tom Nolan, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Director of the Department of Public Works Ed Reiskin and Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting will choose two wheels this Thursday for Bike to Work Day.

“Commuter Convoys,” or groups of cyclists, will lead special morning bike tours to show these leaders the highs and lows of biking on the dozens of streets, such as Second, Fifth, 17th and Townsend Streets, Kirkham Ave., and Alemany Blvd., that are being considered for improvements. These Convoys will converge on the steps of City Hall at 8:30am for a rally to celebrate Bike to Work Day and show support for the planned June decision on the Bike Plan that proposes to double the miles of bike lanes.

It's Up to You, New York, New York

New York State Passes Gay Marriage Bill

That's six.

ALBANY — The State Assembly approved legislation on Tuesday night that would make New York the sixth state to allow same-sex marriage — a pivotal vote that shifts the debate to the State Senate, where gay rights advocates and conservative groups alike are redoubling their efforts.

In a sign of how opinion in Albany has shifted on the issue, several members of the Assembly who voted against the measure in 2007 voted in favor of it on Tuesday.

The final vote was 89 to 52, including the backing of five Republicans.

Supporters of the bill aggressively sought new votes, particularly from Assembly members whose districts lie within Senate districts where a senator’s vote is believed to be in play. As a matter of strategy, same-sex marriage advocates said that they hoped to use those votes as a way to leverage support from senators who are worried that supporting the measure could cost them politically.

JoeMyGod has the play by play.


Meanwhile, crackhead Marion Berry remains the lone dissenter to gay marriage in the district of Washington, D.C. Congress has to deal with this, apparently.

The Maine Event

With Maine's governor signing a bill to allow (or demand?) gay marriage, we now -almost-have five states out of 50 recognizing gay and lesbian marriage. That's 10%. Welcome to the 21st century, America.

Celebrate your chance for a whole lotta love with the only clip from American Idol worth watching this week, Adam Lambert:

Boobgate

Christian slut may be stripped of crown

Something tells me "strip" is going to be at the top of her resume soon.

Why can't a poor maligned rightwing slut show her tits for Christ and be let alone to make dipshit comments about gay marriage? Oh, the trail of (melting mascara) tears this beacon of morality must suffer, and without any more gay stylists to make her look less slutty!



Carrie "I dunno jack, but y'all keep lis-nin" Prejean

Miss California USA Carrie Prejean "breached her contract" by keeping semi-nude photos a secret and could be stripped of her beauty queen title, according to a state pageant spokesman. Miss California USA Carrie Prejean may lose her crown because of some semi-nude photos she appeared in.

Miss California USA Carrie Prejean may lose her crown because of some semi-nude photos she appeared in.

Prejean said the photos -- taken when she was 17 and aspiring to be a Victoria's Secret model -- were being used in a "vicious and mean-spirited" effort to silence her for "defending traditional marriage."

The 21-year-old Miss USA contestant has been the center of controversy since she declared her opposition to same-sex marriage in a response to a question on the pageant stage last month.

"That answer, and my commitment to stand by my beliefs, has since resulted in attacks on me and my integrity as a woman," Prejean said in a news release dated Tuesday.

Her fate was being discussed in "closed-door meetings" Tuesday among California pageant officials, lawyers and representatives of Donald Trump, who owns the international competition, said Miss California USA spokesman Roger Neal.

"They are going over the legalities and clearly she breached her contract," Neal said. "When you compete for Miss California, you're supposed to disclose whether you posed for nude or semi-nude photos because it's grounds for disqualification.

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Miss Prejean is said to have wanted to be a Victoria's Secret model. I'm just curious. What is the preferred "Christian conservative traditional values" style of crotchless panties these days?

Ad Men

I miss the old days when you could wheatpaste a little leftist or gay propaganda on a construction wall, and have your message remain for a while, depending on the weather. When I guerilla-sticked a bevy of bicycle racks around San Francisco to promote Cyclizen, most of them just disappeared pretty quickly. A few times, though, I've noticed that they just stuck. I noticed a stranger eyeing me as I racked my bike, which also has a Cyclizen sticker on the frame, along a rack with a faded Cyclizen sticker.

Via my bud JockoHomo, a new brand of guerrilla wheatpasting's going on in old New York. Illegal corporate ads are being replaced by public art by The Wooster Collective and The Public Ad Campaign. Pretty neat. Ban Billboard Blight also keeps track of LA ad ugliness.

The folks doing this art also elminiate annoying billboards. Even better! Except that kind of behavior led to the disappearance of my bike rack Cyclizen stickers. Oh, well...

Speaking of annoying ads, is anyone a bit annoyed by the Chase commercials that use a cover of the John Lennon song "Instant Karma"?

I mean, whatever the lyric "Well, we all shine on" has to do with added late fees, I dunno. The fact that perhaps Michael Jackson or Yoko Ono sold the rights to the song is icky enough, But it's strangely ironic that a commercial about a bank uses a song with the lyrics (not in the commercial) "Instant Karma's gonna get you. Gonna knock you upside the head."

So, the next time I bounce a check, will I "shine on?"