My POV on HBOs True Blood

I saw it early on, but it didn't hit me until the latter part of this season. Vampires really are gay, metaphorically speaking. For those of you not familiar with the cable tv series, it's a show based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mystery books. It takes place in the fictional town of Bon Temps in the southern part of Louisisana, and tells the story of the coexistence between humans and vampires.

So there's the first revelation. Vampires = Homosexuals. Get it? Vampires are often thought of as monsters. For many, gays are still considered monsters. If you don't believe me, ask the fuckers of the Westboro Baptist Church. They wouldn't give a second thought to staking us in the heart. Then again, the jerks who run WBC are monsters in their own right. Vampires are creatures of the night. Gays enjoy the nightlife. Do you see a pattern forming. It's like they're telling the story of homos and heteros coexisting, right? Right.

"Maybe we should be scared. There's more of them than us, and they're pissed!" -Pam Swynford De Beaufort

Pam is an interesting character but has seemed more vulnerable as of late. Her character is snarky and not afraid to hold back how she really feels about someone. She's the perfect gay man: style savvy and successful. I pulled her quote from season six because there was a time when it was scary to be gay. In some places it still is. In fact it's this season that really had me thinking about how much of a correlation I see between this show and real life.

Anna Camp plays the role of Sarah Newlin. Her character is cold blooded and heartless, even I'm afraid of her (and this is a fictional character I'm talking about). She's not even a vampire, but she's dead-set on destroying every last one of them. Think of her as any pastor who's believes that God is telling them to do anything in their power to do away with homosexuality. In the series, she is a pastor's ex-wife. Not only do we later discover in the show that her ex is gay, but he also becomes a vampire himself....uh-oh! Only difference is, Sarah is a character we love to hate on tv. In real life, we would just hate her.

In this latest season, the government comes so close to doing away with vampires, which made me think of people trying to over turn the decision of many states allowing homosexual marriage. Yeah, it's not quite the same, then again it kind of is. It was such an eerie scene when Sarah Newlin nearly escapes death to slowly climb up the stairs as she's citing Psalms 23:4 and 23:6 (King James version) with the intention of killing almost half of the main cast. It's like watching the news when some conservative literally thinks it's God's will to end the homo lifestyle, and you say to yourself: "This bitch gone crazy!" Imagine Michele Bachmann, but with real balls.

Of course the gays are going to be big fans of this show. The vampires are hot (lots of nudity in this show), they dress immaculately, and they'll glamour you. This sunday is the season six finale. Follow the link below to watch the teaser for last week's episode. Just this clip alone gets me all wet. Enjoy :)

http://youtu.be/a3xwfoGkxoo

Goodbye to one of the last of San Antonio's finest.

Photo taken by Stephanie Campos in Dallas, TX, July 2011

I've always said, Erica Andrews was one of the last of the real showgirls in San Antonio. Granted, she lived the last years of her life up in Dallas, she made San Antonio a staple in the drag circuit. If you are a gay man in Texas, it was almost a given that you knew the Andrews name. It's a gay household name, and now the last "real" Andrews is gone.

I considered Erica a Texas icon. She held so many titles as a performer, including Miss Gay Texas USofA 1997, Miss Gay USofA 1999, Miss Texas Continental 2001, Miss Florida Continental 2004, and Universal Show Queen 2004, according to a fan-made Facebook page.

But Erica was more than a performer, she was a genuine person. She was one of the first "showgirls" (as they are known at The Saint in San Antonio) I ever saw perform, and she was one of the last greats of my time, mid to late 90s, the time when I first came out. And I don't mean to sound disrespectful to the craft, but she isn't like the performers today, who seem more obnoxious and loud than anything. Many of the queens today also seem to feel entitled for some reason. Respect and love wasn't just something Erica earned on stage, it was something she earned from her everyday personality.

The first time I met Erica was for an interview in Spots Magazine, September 2004. She would pose as Wonder Woman for the cover that issue. From the knee-high boots to the golden tiara, she would have brought a twinge of nostalgia even to Lynda Carter's eye. She talked about performing in San Antonio for the first time.

"I think that was like in 1988," Andrews said. "It was a place called Phazez. I hadn't gone through my transition yet, so I was like a little young gay boy in drag. I was (impersonating) Cher back then. It was horrible, but the audience loved it. I felt like a star. It was the best feeling."

She worked magic with makeup. It's no wonder she was so successful working for MAC Cosmetics. Erica may not have been born male, but many women I know could have learned a thing or two from her. Many friends were devastated by the news of her passing, but many of them had a story to share.

My best friend Mary quickly recalled the days of hanging out at another friend's place, Michael, for Melrose Mondays back in the late 90s. Yes, Erica could often be found there tanning, along with other friends and fellow performers such as Melissa Crawford, and Henrietta (aka Hot Henrietta). Melrose Mondays were tradition, and at the time Melrose Place was a really good show.

Another friend, Conrad, said he was grateful to know her. In fact, one of the things he loved about her was that she remembered him immediately after they first met. Being the icon she was, he said he never would have expected her to even remember his name, but she did...everytime thereafter. But that's who Erica was. She had this way of letting you know she was acknowledging your presence. My acknowledgement from her was always a wink and a smile. It's something I will always remember.

Rest in peace, beautiful lady. You worked hard to get where you were, and now it's time to go home. Your time here will never be forgotten. Goodbye Erica Andrews (1969-2013).

Another Seven Minutes

If you missed it last year, you definitely don't want Seven Minutes in Heaven 2013 to pass you by this year. The sexually inspired art show will blow you away. Hundreds showed up for last year's show. Never had I seen that many people flock to Fox Motel (at least not admittingly).

The show is once again brought to you by The Invisible Gallery, and curated by the great minds of Jessica Garcia and Linda Arredondo. SMIH 2013 will return to the raunchy Fox Motel on March 2, for this one night only show featuring more erotic art. Last year, the show featured paintings, sculptures, performances, and site-specific installations, which explored ideas of the erotic and notions of sexuality. I can only expect more of the same, and then some, this year.

Contributing artists this year include Phillip Avila, Grayson Bagwell, Vanessa Centeno, Agosto Cuellar, Thomas Cummins, Antonio Diaz, Jessica Ramirez, Abel Rodriguez, Joe Salazar, Erin Stafford, and Katie Wynne.

Fox Motel is located at 302 Newell Ave, just northeast of the downtown area. The show takes place from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Music will be provided by DJs Shabbytiger and Sneaky Le Sneak. Also there to celebrate their one-year-anniversary is The Institute of Chili (formerly The Chili Queens).

If you haven't made plans for this weekend, you have some now. You'll be at Fox Motel for this erotic art show. Don't be left out in the dark. If this turns out like the last show, every room will be booked. Be there!

Not all customer service experiences should be bad news.

I think people are so used to me talking about my bad experiences dealing with customer service, that I often neglect to talk about my great experiences. So I'm dedicating this blog to the outstanding service that I get everytime I visit the Sears Auto Center at Park North. They're quick, efficient, and always keep me informed.

Although, I've been to this shop on a few different occasions, I have to say, they haven't found a way to disappoint me yet. I've had my oil changed there, I had the coolant flushed, and I've had the battery replaced, twice. Last week I noticed my car was overheating. I decided, after a week, to take my car to Sears to find out what was going on.

After talking to a few friends, who had me try my own analysis by observation, I was told it could be a few different things, from the temperature relay, to the thermostat, to a blown head gasket. I had an initial feeling that it might be the thermostat only because I had a similar situation with a prvious car. I dropped the car off at the shop Friday afternoon for an oil change, and asked them to take a look to see why it might be overheating.

Being that I didn't take the car in until 3 p.m., they didn't get a chance to look at it until after 5. Of course I had nothing else to do but go out for a few drinks with a friend. At about 5:30 p.m. I received a call from the service associate. It seemed there was a tear in a hose that led to the thermostat. I was told they could get the part from the dealership, but since it was so late in the day, they wouldn't get it until Monday, and that I could also get my car the same day.

This almost counteracted the slight buzz I had going from the three bourbon and cokes I had just finished consuming, but I thought quick. I told the associate that I knew the dealership parts department was open Saturdays, and that I really needed my car for a small trip I was making on Sunday. She told me she would be at work by 10 a.m. and would call the dealership at that time, then contact me.

She did exactly that. She called me at 10:30, explained that the part was in stock at the dealership, and that since they didn't have a courier available on the weekend, she would find someone to go out and pick it up so that they could have my car ready that afternoon. Sure I paid over $400, but had I taken my car to the dealership directly, I know I would have paid much more.

I was impressed. They were able to tell me what was wrong with my car and get it to me sooner than they had originally stated. I had taken my car to this shop previously for some maintenance work, according to the maintenance book that came with my vehicle. But when I asked the techs at Sears to service the transmission at 35,000 miles, they were quick to tell me it was way too soon. Had I gone to the dealership, they wouldn't have batted an eye. They would have done it, or claimed to do it, and been really quick to charge me for it. Instead, Sears told me to wait until 75,000 miles.

My point is, I've never had any car serviced any place where they were as honest with me, or as prompt with their service, and for this, I have to give mad props to the Sears Auto Center at Park North in San Antonio. They've definitely got a loyal customer here.

Northside computer repair shop quick to take money for selling false promises

I wrote about Blake's Computer Repair shop earlier this week. They're a privately owned business located at 3728 Fredericksburg Rd. I blogged in detail about how I had given them two of my computers to repair, and that nothing was done with them, although they charged me $130 up front, then made sure to remind me that they DID NOT offer refunds when I pickued up the still out-of-service, and now damaged computers. That's right, I picked them up even more damaged than when I had dropped them off. Well I just learned today, that I'm not the only one they've pulled this kind of crap on.

Another friend of mine told me she had taken her phone there (apparently they do phone repair as well, or at least they claim to). She said they seemed clueless about what they were doing, which is exactly what I had noticed about them. When I picked up my equipment, they had such a hard time finding any of it. In fact, as I had mentioned in my last blog, they never returned the cord for my laptop because they couldn't find it. I also talked to a second friend who didn't know I had recently taken both my computers to Blake's, and told me that she too experienced something similar.

This other friend seemed to be having problems with her compuer. She asked if it was possible to restore her computer without losing any of the data. She basically wanted everything backed up and then restored. She claims she was told it would be no problem, they would save everything for her and have her computer restored. When she was given back her laptop, nothing had been saved, and everything bad been restored to the original factory settings. And as they were quick to point out to me, they also told her, that she was not entitled to a refund.

Well here's the thing, Blake, we don't want a fucking refund. We simply want our shit fixed like your geeks had promised. And if you can't do that, then close up shop the way your ex-wife closed up the other two. Yeah, that's right. The gossip is that when his wife divorced him, she took the other two stores he owned, and closed them....just because she could. I guess it kind of served him right, for running such a shady business. He can bet his ass I'll be sending his name to the Better Business Bureau, as well as this blog to a few friends of mine at ever tv station in town. They really need to expose this ass hole.

Be sure to find out about any business before you take them anything of yours. Get the facts, so that you don't get fucked like me and my friends did.

TheGossipGuy Tip #172 - As with any repair service, be sure to check credentials first

Yeah, that's right. Shame on me for not doing my homework. The next time you need your computer repaired, I highly suggest either taking it back to where you bought it, looking for a service shop online and reading the reviews, or asking a friend who may have already been through this ordeal. As for me, I hit a double-whammy last month when both my laptop and desktop went out. Yes, this would explain why you haven't seen many posts from me in a little while.

So me, being the ever trusting person that I am, decided to take my laptop to Blake's Computer repair located at 3728 NW Loop 410, near Wonderland of the Americas Mall. I should have known from the beginning when I saw computer shit all over the place that something was wrong, but no, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. So I drop off my laptop and explain to them that it won't power up anymore. Joaquin, the service technician takes one look at it and tells me that it has something to do with the port where the power cord plugs in to the device. He even demonstrated how it was loose and needed to be fixed. So BAM! I'm charged $120 and out the door I'm sent. I'm told I can pick it up in a couple of days. Luckily I wasn't going to need it, and was leaving for vacay the following day.

Upon my return from vacay, I notice that my desktop comp is out too. Turns out there was a massive storm while I was out of town. I'm still not certain if there was some kind of surge, but I decided to take that one in to Blake's as well. They open it up in front of me and explain that it needs a new power supply. Next, I'm told I can have my desktop back the following day because they have a spare power supply in the back. This worked for me, but while I was there, I decided to pick up my laptop. It hadn't been repaired to my surprise. Joaquin tells me that he can't figure out what's wrong with it, and that it's "a unique" problem even for him. He assures me he would take a look at it, and that he could probably have it done by the weekend. This was great news for me.

Fast forward a month and a half later from the day I first dropped off my laptop. Both machines are still sitting at Blake's. It was always one excuse after another. They haven't had time to look at it. They still haven't determined what was causing the power failure in the laptop, and the power supply for the desktop was still on back order because of the Thanksgiving holiday (turned out the one they had in stock didn't fit my computer, acccording to Joaquin). Well fuck me three ways from Sunday, but I'm pretty sure my computers were there way before any of the others they were looking at. I finally decided to throw in the towel and just pick up both computers, whether they were finished or not. This is where I blew my fucking lid!

The laptop which I had handed to them back in October, was brand new. I kid you not, it even had the cellophane screen protector from the original packaging. I had gotten the laptop as a gift upon completing graduate school, but had not used the thing because no software was included and we didn't have wi-fi at home for a while, so I just didnt' see any use for it. It literally sat in its original box for almost a year. So I go into the shop to pick up my equipment and my laptop, which again, was in mint condition, has scratches all over the top where it appears they had sat other equipment on it. On top of that, Joaquin couldn't find my power cord. The original power cord which I supplied to them at the time of drop off in October. He was very nonchalante about it too. "Oh, I can't find it." Really dickhead? He offered to give me a replacement, but I wasn't very satisfied. I quickly grabbed my two computers and began walking to the exit, but here's the cherry on top of this fucked up Sundae....Joaquin has the nerve to tell me they don't offer refunds on any work that has already been done, and that he'll call me as soon as they get the power supply for my desktop. FUCK YOU!

I don't want their fucking power supply. I don't want their fucking refund. I most certainly don't want their fucking business ever again. I will defintely be telling everyone what a shady-ass business they're running there. No refunds? FUCK YOU BLAKE'S! I will gladly take my business elsewhere, but I most certainly have learned that I need to check up and do my homework on places like this the next time i decide to take anything in for repair.

WTF did I just eat?

Due to the dropping of several F-bombs in this post, parental discretion is advised.

I don't even know where to begin. I am beyond pissed right now. So I go out to pick up something quick after work so that I could just go home and relax. I figured, "Hey, there's a Jack-in-the-Box near my place, I'll pick up something there (mind you, I rarely eat at this place)." So I see this new sandwich being advertised on their drive-thru menu. It's a sourdough steak melt (imagine a Philly cheese steak sandwich, but on sourdough).

So I've got my meal planned, I'm ready to order, and I'll be home in just a few minutes. Sounds like the perfect plan....until I get home. I open my sandwich, and the first thing out of my mouth was "HOLY FUCK!" All I could think was that I sure as hell had to have been punked. My fries were colder than death, and my sandwich...where the fuck do I even begin about this fucking sandwich? It was like eating 2 pieces of bread with a hint of steak and cheese in between. I'm not even kidding. Like seriously, maybe 6 small pieces of steak.

I really should have taken a picture before I emailed their corporate office to let then know how fucking disappointed I was with their food. In fact, I wouldn't have eaten it because of how very upset I was, but it was late, I was hungry, and I needed to eat. So yeah, I did eat it, and then I came straight to my computer to blog about the shit that was my dinner experience on this disappointing evening. But believe me, I'm going back out to get myself something else to eat, and you can bet it won't be back to Jack-In-The-Box.

I don't know whether their corporate offices will reply to my disgruntled email, but if they don't, they can be sure I'll send them one every night until I know I got my point across. FUCK YOU JACK-IN-THE-BOX!!!!

Oh, in case you couldn't tell from the picture, this is the Jack-In-The-Box at San Pedro and Hilderbrand