A Proper Pizza (no rubbish)

UrSpo mentioned in one comment that I should describe my idea of the perfect pizza. I love pizza, but I am a food snob for sure (and a Virgo), so things have to be perfect for me to be really happy.

There is one pizza place in Dallas that satisfies my quest for really good pizza: Piggy Pies. The absolute best specality pizza they have is their Goat Cheese Pizza: Goat Cheese, Grilled Chicken, Spinach, Mozzarella Cheese and our homemade Alfredo Sauce! Yummy!!

If I was going to build my own pizza I would have chicken and pepperoni, mushrooms and black olives with lots of cheese. I prefer thin crusts and no extra peppers to sprinkle on top. And if someplace has exotic cheeses that's even better. Feta and goat cheese are great on pizza.

What kind of pizza do y'all like?

photo source is from Piggy Pie Pizza

Fasting

Yesterday I went 24 hours with just drinking water. It reminded me of when I was a kid growing up in the mormon church. The first Sunday of every month was Fast Sunday. You were supposed to go 24 hours without food or drink and during the time pray for someone or something you wanted. Then the cost of the meals donated to the church for their welfare programs.

It was way too difficult for a young kid to go that long without food and by the time you were 8 years old it was expected of you to do this. There were only a few months when I went the full 24 hours, I usually sneaked some candy, juice or anything I could find in the middle of the night.

While there are some health benefits, such as body cleanse of toxins, most religions of the world observe some type of fasting. I believe mostly for a feeling of mastery over the body and natural base desires.

My reasons were the health reasons but it was interesting that it brought back these childhood memories of Fast Sunday.

Does any of my blogger buddies do a fast for religious or health reasons?

Wed

Friday afternoon I arrived at the camp.
We started getting everything set up and cleaned up for the big party. Within a few hours more of the crew arrived and the beer, rum and cider were flowing. The weather was absolutely beautiful! And I was feeling fine! YAY!

Saturday morning we woke up to fog that had settled in the trees. We knew it would be a perfect day. I got the kilt on and I rehearsed the vows for a few minutes while everyone else was getting ready. We found a beautiful spot for the ceremony. We were on a slight rise, we set up the chairs and all was ready to go.

The guests started to arrive and everyone in the crew was in tune making this a perfect day for Robert and Rose. Finally it was time to start. I stood under the arch and watched my dear friends and my chosen family walk up the aisle. The ceremony went beautifully and it brought tears to several eyes.

Before the walked back down the aisle the other members of the crew drew their swords and made an arch. We toasted the new couple, took more photos and then headed into the faire. Several hours and drinks later we stumble back to camp to eat and rest a bit before the night's shenanigans.

We woke up this morning, got the camps packed up and we headed out. The 3 hour drive was uneventful, but I was still on a high from the love shown by my friends.

Hope y'all had a great weekend.

Wedding weekend!

In a few minutes I will be driving down to Sherwood Forest Faire for a special weekend. My dear close friends are getting married! I am officiating. This will be my 5th wedding. I have the ceremony and vows all written and almost memorized so I'm not worried at all.

However, I woke up a few times during the night with... um... well, let's just say I have to stop at a store to buy some imodium!

This is me with Robert and Rose last year.

Wish me luck....
Y'all have a safe and happy weekend.

Pet Peeve # 4

Parking in downtown Dallas is at a premium. I pay around $60 a month for parking across the street from the office. The parking garage was finished, but the building was never built above it. (I hear that the city is trying to get some company to finish the building) See the X in the picture below.

Most people that park there and that work in my building jaywalk (blue arrow). I don't jaywalk! My pet-peeve is the people that do. If you go the other direction and cross at the crosswalk it's maybe an extra 100 feet (green arrows).

This annoys me... why can't people walk a few extra steps to cross the street legally? My mother taught me to not play or walk out into traffic. But every one of my coworkers make fun of me for walking to the crosswalk. I tell them that I'm not surprised that there are so many obese people in the country that they can't walk a few extra feet. This goes along with my pet-peeve of people just standing on an esclator... don't get me started on that!

I drive on that road on my way home and I am amazed to see people running out into traffic. It's especially bad in the winter when it gets dark early.

Am I just being weird about this?

Happy Ostara!

Happy First Day of Spring and the Vernal Equinox!

I'm afraid there will be no naked dancing around a bonfire tonight as Dallas is getting drenched by a huge rainstorm. Oh well... there is always the weekend! hehehe

I only got to see Erik a few minutes when he and his husbear were here for TBRU. It was a busy weekend for both of us... but at least we got to say hello. The weather was perfect for the bears visiting Dallas and the bar called The Door for the Sunday afternoon beer bust was packed.

I'm bear friendly. I love the bears. A few of my best friends are bears. There was even a time, years ago, when I was a bear. I'm very bear curious. But... I'm not the 'typical' bear, I don't seem to be really accepted by the bears... I don't know why.

Oh well... it was fun anyways.

Tongue Twisters

When I was growing up my grandpa love to teach us kids tongue twisters. They still fascinate me today. I don't know why it's so hard for us to articulate these properly; I guess it's just part of language.

The following twister won the "grand prize" in a contest in Games Magazine in 1979:

Shep Schwab shopped at Scott's Schnapps shop;
One shot of Scott's Schnapps stopped Schwab's watch.

These next two are favorites of mine taught to me by grandpa:
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper.
Red Leather, Yellow Leather.

My friends this weekend told me a new one:
Irish wristwatch.

What are some of the best that you know?

Even more random stuff

Another event I had as an option of attending this weekend was an Ostara ritual and party with some Wiccan friends of mine. I was so looking forward to see how they celebrate this holiday, even though it really isn't Ostara yet, which is on Tuesday.

I met with my friend Rose last night. I am officiating at her wedding to my great friend Robert... next weekend. That's soon! We were planning the whole ceremony over wine last night.

I'm heading down to Austin in a few minutes to celebrate Mike and Charles' birthdays. We will be wearing our kilts and we'll be called the O'Really clan. This should make for some fun on St. Patrick's Day tomorrow.

I've been getting into the workout routine again. This weekend and next week will be very busy with writing a wedding ceremony. I'm not sure how much time I'll have for the gym. :-(


I saw some recent pictures of me and I didn't like all the gray hairs on my face. So I think I'll try the clean shaven thing again.

That's all...

Have a great Irish weekend y'all!

Random Stuff

This weekend looks to be busy and full of many many choices:

The bears will be in town for TBRU.

A dear friend is celebrating her 50th birthday.

Dallas has it's annual drunken St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday.

My close friends want to go out to several bars again in kilts like we did last year.

Two of my rennie friends are celebrating their birthday this weekend at Sherwood Forest Faire.

Oh, what to do? What to do...??


Oh.. and here's the random part of the blog entry:

My favorite line is at the 1:19 mark. LOL

Controversial Stuff

Friday night I headed up to King Spa. My neck has been stiff and sore all week and I was looking forward to another massage. I soaked in the spa and relaxed in the saunas. It's exactly what I needed.

Saturday evening I heard a news teaser. "A city councilman was arrested at King Spa... more details at 10".

What??

So I tuned in at 10 and there it was, the story of a city councilman of Duncanville and three other men, arrested for lewd behavior and indecent exposure at King Spa on Thursday!

I was upset.

This is a true spa establishment. It's not a place to be sexual! There is a gay bathhouse in Dallas if you want that type of experience. Two bathhouses to be honest!

OK. I'm all for married men exploring their sexuality; I've always had a saying "better latent than never". But something like this gives all gay men a bad name. Everyone in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area now think that all gay men (or all men who go to this spa) are perverts.

Again... I'm not condemning the behavior, just the place they did this and the bad press it gave us. I'm not a prude, I've been to the bathhouse in Dallas. In fact, it's less expensive to go to Club Dallas than this family spa.

If you think about this, it was not a Christian person complaining about 'the gays', these men were observed by undercover officers. (thinking of undercover cops walking around naked is another blogpost for another time) wink wink! :-P

Am I being a prude? What do y'all think?

(Image source: woofwax.com)

Discovering Dallas - Brunch Edition

Todd's D Magazine article the other day got me thinking about the best places to go for brunch in Dallas. So I thought I'd list my favorites here. This might give y'all an idea of the many things to do in Dallas:

10. Meddlesome Moth. I've not been here yet, but I hear the food is great! It's in the new trendy Design District just minutes away from the gayborhood. I've been there for happy hour.

9. Bread Winners. In Uptown (area just north of downtown Dallas). I like the food but it's become too popular with the straights and the yuppies that now gather in hordes in Uptown.

8. Smoke. In Oak Cliff (da cliff - said like "da hood"). Built next to the historic Belmont Hotel with it's fantastic views of the Dallas skyline.

7. Cafe Brazil. This Cafe Brazil is the one right on the strip, smackdab in the center of the gayborhood. Across the street from the Round Up Saloon and a favorite place to watch the boys walk around.

6. Bolsa. Another place in da Cliff. About a mile from my house. Good fresh food, but a bit pricey.

5. La Duni Latin Cafe. There are 2 great locations near the gayboorhood and the food is outstanding. Mimosas are great too!

4. Market Diner. Old style diner with your typcial diner breakfast foods close to the gayborhood. The old waitress with the beehive is worth seeing too. A favorite feeding spot for bears.

3. Lucky's. Most popular gay dining spot in Dallas! I once heard a woman say to her very hot boyfriend; "why is it so gay in here?" She was just jealous that her boyfriend was getting more attention than she was.

2. Oddfellows. A new brunch spot in the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff. The food is amazing!

1. Taverna. This is my favorite brunch spot in Dallas. It's in the Knox-Henderson area but still close to gaytown (this is their patio in the photo above). The food is fantastic, the focaccia is amazing and who can say no to bottomless mimosas or bellinis for $1?

Brunch is so gay!

A friend of mine wrote this for D Magazine:

For weeks, our editorial team brunched, munched, and debated which restaurants serve the best brunches in Dallas. But beyond whose French toast was the most manifique and which bacon was da (fat) bomb, one thing became clear: brunch is the gayest meal of the week. Our dining editor asked during one particularly contentious meeting, “Why is it that 80 percent of the people who I’ve seen at brunch are gay men?” The question was directed at me, the lone gay in the D Magazine village and, apparently, the resident expert on “the love that dare not speak its name.”

I hadn’t ever thought about it in those terms, but the question was a good one. Yes, brunch is gay. No, not the “gay” of schoolyard taunts nor the “gay” of rainbow-clad pride parades. But gay men do love to brunch. But as for why, I was stumped. So I gathered some friends at one of our favorite restaurants one Sunday to hold a focus group. After spirited discussion—and by spirited I mean fueled by Bloody Marys—I concluded the following:

1. Brunch is effortlessly stylish. Breakfast is for the everyman. Dinner can be showy. But brunch has a casual elegance to it. It’s a challenge. You don’t don your Barneys best for brunch, but it certainly deserves more than shorts, flips-flops, and a t-shirt. Unless said t-shirt is a Givenchy ribbed tank, though not in blue curacao because that was so summer 2011.

2. At brunch, carbs are not only consumed but encouraged. Many a six-packed gay man will push away the bread basket at dinner so as not to be judged by his fellow gym comrades (also referred to as “read for filth” in the Official Gay Handbook, volume four). But take that same bread, griddle it in a Madagascar vanilla-kumquat gastrique, and top it with something—anything—confited, and suddenly it’s to hell with the skinny jeans and hello, elastic waistband.

3. Brunch is the most social of meals. At dinner, you make a reservation for perhaps four people at the most, and that’s all you bring. But that brunch reservation for 10 that somehow morphed into an unexpected gaggle of 20? Yeah, that’s me and my friends. Of course, we’ll be happy to wait at the bar for our table. More than happy.

4. Brunch is not for children. You can bring kids to brunch, but they won’t like it. First, kids can’t wait till 11 o’clock (or later) to eat their first meal of the day. Second, kids don’t like to linger, and brunch is all about taking your time. A good brunch takes an hour and a half, minimum. Most kids have trouble sitting still longer than 30 minutes. Oh, and to state the obvious: most gay men aren’t encumbered by children.

5. Brunch and cocktails are synonymous. Let’s not mince words: gay men like to drink. At brunch, cocktails are poured into slender flutes and come in a kaleidoscope of colors adorned with fruit, parasols, sparklers, and other ridiculous accessories. At dinner, no gay man would be caught dead ordering such a drink. But at brunch? They let down their guard and indulge their inner divas. And if the drink is named something silly like a Sassy Slingback? Why, yes, we’d like another round, please. Or, as my own partner, whose gayety is exceeded only by his sage wisdom, put it: “Two words: bottomless mimosas.”

Image source and D Magazine article here.

Thanks Todd! I love this....

Discovering Dallas - Episode Two

This weekend the city opened a new bridge over the Trinity River that flows just west of downtown Dallas.

It was designed by Santiago Calatrava Valls.

It's called the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge and they had the party for the opening last weekend.

I got there after the closed they bridge down to clean up. I walked around taking pictures on the other bridge that will be torn down.

I watched this being built as I drive past it every day on my way to work. Many people don't like the big arch... it's too big. But it does look better with the cables hung.

It seems to change the look depending on the angle of where you are. I guess I'm starting to like it.

It's weird though... it leads to a non-descript street in west Dallas. Maybe it will help develop the area in that part of the the city now.

When it opens to traffic on March 29th I'll try to snap a new photo from under the arch.

Discovering Dallas - Episode One

Dallas is not the largest city in Texas. But the greater Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area is the largest in Texas and the 4th largest metro area in the country. This brings a lot of things to do in Dallas. That's why the state fair grounds are here. It's just about a mile south and a mile east of downtown. The fairgrounds hold many activities and festivals.

Yesterday I attended the 30th anniversary of the North Texas Irish Festival on the fairgrounds. This is a great place to go if you love seeing men in kilts! There is an Irish National Tartan (green and orange of course), many wore their blue and green tartan kilts, but many Irish men prefer the Utilikilt. There may be some people that scorn and laugh and call it a "skirt", but it is only a skirt if you're wearing panties!

There were booths set up of vendors selling kilts and all the accessories that go with it, plus swords and knives. Also a lot of jewelry, t-shirts and women's clothing. There were several beer booths selling of course Guinness, Beamish (like Guinnes but with coffee), Murphy's Irish Stout, Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale and my favorite Crispin Hard Cider.

They also had several dog rescue missions there with the Irish Wolfhounds (my favorite), Irish Setters, Border Collies, Yorkies and a couple others.

They allow pets so it was a good day to bring your pet out. I got to wear me new kilt and spend time with my friends.

I've been here almost 16 years and this was my first time attending!
See... there is so much of Dallas I have yet to discover.

Clogged

They sold me!

I just want to know... do the guys show up at your house when you buy the product?
[drool]

March tarot

The Eight of Cups

The Eight of Cups is a card of change and transition. It's about moving onward and upwards. The past is gone and can't be changed. I cannot go backward and I cannot stay where I am, and the time has come to make the most of the future. This is a card of self-discovery, urging you to pursue your true path and find something better.

This has a lot of meaning for me at the moment as I have thought about renewing some friendships that haven fallen away in the last few years. But I think this card is telling me that I shouldn't as it would be revisiting the past and dwelling on things that can't be changed.

This card also represents a search for higher truth when the everyday truths of the material world are no longer sufficient to satsify the soul.