Ghosts, gays, and a haunted house

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Screen Shot 2013-02-13 at 4.44.02 AMBuilt in 1891, and occupied only by it’s original owners, Porterville’s Zalud House is thought by some to be haunted.  The home stands today as it has through it’s entire history, never remodeled, and furnished with the possessions of the Zalud family.

Pearle Zalud lived in the house until her death at the age of 84 in 1970.  Pearle and several of her family members have died in the residence, and one piece of furniture sits in an upstairs bedroom, still displaying the bullet hole created when Pearle’s brother-in-law, William Brooks, was shot while sitting in it at a bank in downtown Porterville.

On February 12, 2013, the Tuesday Evening Dining Group (TEDG) went to Porterville for dinner, a walking historical tour of downtown, and a special visit inside the Zalud House.  Hosted by Porterville’s Paranormal Movement Investigations team, TEDG went ghost hunting!  Did we find any? Well….

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Playing with QuickTime – I make a movie! (2:49-a short)

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I didn’t know you could make videos with QuickTime.  Once I did, I did.  I may make more.  Assuming I can think of anything worth saying!

oohhh… they’re killing me!

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The guys at Andrew Christian are really enhancing my Facebook feed! If you ever hear I’ve had a heart attack, these kind of things are probably why…

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Another indulgence, this from Andrew Christian

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Stoney L. Andrew Christian customer from Louisiana

Stoney L., an Andrew Christian customer from Louisiana

The Andrew Christian (underwear company who’s target customers are young gay men) website, here. NSFW

Jimmiejoe a sports fan? Well, yes and no.

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sports_fan

I’m not into sports, but I’m sometimes a fan.

Speaking of fans, I think I need one.

I didn’t get the fashion gene…

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December 1, 2012

December 1, 2012

I’ve never been sure about this whole suit-jacket-jacket-over-just-a-tee-shirt thing, it always seemed a bit… well, incomplete, I suppose.  Most everyone I’ve seen doing it, however, has looked fine, so I thought I’d give it a try.  It seems to work, for a picture anyway.  I’m still not sure about wearing one with blue jeans, although, again, everyone I’ve seen out and about that way looks good (that may have more to do with them looking fine no matter what, than it does with anything they happen to be wearing at any particular moment. I’m looking at you, Ted).

I’m a bit annoyed with the Gay Gods for sending me down with incomplete DNA.  No fashion gene, no decorating gene, no dancing gene….  I feel a bit like a rainbow flag with several colors missing!

BTW, the red marks on my neck don’t indicate anything more than my electric razor irritates sometimes, and I had just shaved.  And for some reason, I get two spots on my chin when using digital cameras to take pictures.  From my Kodak camera, to the iPhone, splotches show up in the strangest places, and are generally not visible to the naked eye.  I’m not sure where all that gray is coming from that shows up in my hair in these pictures.  It doesn’t seem to be there in my mirror!

The things I didn’t know

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howtosurviveaplague_aidsribbonOn Friday, November 30, I attended a special showing of the documentary “How to survive a plague”, shown in Fresno.  Using archival video, the film showcases the efforts of ACT UP and TAG during the early years in the battle against AIDS.

I think what amazes me the most is how much of this battle I was oblivious to, even though I was a young adult at the time.  I recognized some of the media coverage of events from having seen it on television while it was happening, but I was unaware, even as recently as Thursday last, that most of the impetuous that drove research was due to pressure imposed by these groups.

Presented in a chronological progression, the challenges faced by those infected, as the community struggled to deal with this mysterious new killer, are laid out for the viewer.  The continuing dismissal by those in power of the victims of this illness, the slow movement in funding and research as the death toll climbed, and the clear impression given by many that those infected with HIV simply got what they deserved, are all things of which I was aware.

What I didn’t know, and now completely changes my outlook on a history that I lived through, is how the protests and actions of ACT UP and TAG were instrumental in forcing government and the pharmaceutical industry to respond.  It becomes clear that thousands, hundreds of thousands, or perhaps even millions more would have died without the concerted efforts of a relatively few people, many of whom were also suffering from AIDS.

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Letters to the Editor – Does SB 1172 protect children, or usurp parental rights?

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The fingers have been flying recently, writing letters to the editor.  Our local paper, The Visalia Times Delta, published on October 24 a letter bemoaning the recently passed SB 1172.  The California legislature passed, and Governor Brown signed, legislation that outlaws “reparative” therapy for anyone under the age of 18.  Predictably, the right wing is furious with this blatant usurpation of parental rights.  The writer of Wednesday’s letter seems to feel that parental rights trump any other concerns, and that disproven and harmful therapies are justifiable if parents think they are acceptable.  I wrote a response.  You can read both after the jump.

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NOH8 picture finally available!

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The NOH8 Campaign pictures taken at Fresno are now available.

Here’s mine!

It has occurred to me…

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It’s a shame there aren’t more (any) out gay deputies at my department. During a quiet spell tonight, I was thinking about the dispatch tradition I’ve been unable to uphold in my 18 years here.
In all those years, I’m pretty sure I’m the only (single) dispatcher that has not had some kind of gossip-worthy relationship with a deputy or officer.
I’m a bit bummed by that.
Oh well, guess it’s just not meant to be.

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Really, who could resist this face?

 

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