Stan’s Obligatory Blog

On Saturday night, Shari and I went over to Hollywood. The occasion was a party and book signing at Antebellum Gallery for my friend Elayne’s new book, The Piercing Bible. I’ve known Elayne for more than 20 years now, and seeing her is always a treat.

The art on display at the gallery was an odd mix of old Bettie Page bondage pictures, clown paintings, and photos of amputees. And the crowd that turned out was equally entertaining. I saw a number of people who I hadn’t seen in many years. I also got to introduce Shari to my friends Nina Hartley and Ernest Greene. That was some fun.

It was a very fun evening. And as a piece of trivia: I’ve known Elayne since 1987, but she’s never actually stuck a needle through me. The one time I had an appointment to get pierced by her, she called in sick and so Jim Ward did it instead.

Today’s bike ride was a little sightseeing trip around northeast Los Angeles. We met at Live Oak Park in Temple City and then set out to the west.

The group quickly broke up, and the ‘fast group’ consisted of me and Gene. We rode across San Marino and South Pasadena into Highland Park. We had a quick side trip to peek into Heritage Square. Then we crossed the freeway and headed up Mt. Washington to pass the Self-Realization Fellowship at the top. Then down the very steep and rough route back into Highland Park.

From there, we headed north, back into Pasadena. The actual ride route had us going back to Temple City, but Gene and I both bailed and went home. It was a nice ride.

34 miles.

Addendum: There was one bit of unpleasantness on this ride. On my way down to Live Oak Park, I was run off the road by a jerk in a minivan. I yelled at him, and he just moved over into my lane and pushed me off the road. Memo to motorists: If you’re going to drive like an asshole, don’t do it in a car with an easily-remembered vanity plate. Yes, “SQSH NUT”, I’m referring to you. And I’ll be looking for you.

cycling