Salt

Back in April, I posted about some action sequences (see 1:18 mark in the clip) from the Angolina Jolie movie Salt being filmed here in Albany on I-787.

The movie opens today.

Candlelight Rally For Marriage Equality

Tonight I went to the Lighting the Way for Equality candlelight vigil in support of Marriage Equality held at the capitol in Albany, NY. In my estimation, there were around 400 people in attendance. A great turnout on a November-balmy (60˚) night.

It was covered by the local television affiliates WRGB-6 (CBS), WTEN-10 (ABC), and WNYT-13 (NBC). They're using the story as a teaser for the 11 o'clock news.

After rallying on the east steps, the group made a circuit around the capitol building, then returned to the steps. There was a clever twist to a familiar chant:

Caller: What do we want?

Crowd: Marriage Equality!

Caller: When do we want it?

Crowd: Tomorrow!

The crowd was reminded to contact their state Senators to encourage their support. We need to get the Senate to bring it to a vote and to pass it like they've already done in the Assembly. Proponent Governor Paterson has been pushing it through and said he'll sign it!

The couple here in the front/center are straight and holding a sign supporting their lesbian daughter. Supportive PFLAG parents rock!

UPDATE 11/10/09 7:45 PM
The Associated Press is reporting that: New York's governor is pushing state lawmakers to consider a bill to legalize same-sex marriage bill next week after his effort to force a Senate vote appears all but lost. Gov. David Paterson is placing the bill on agendas for special sessions on Nov. 16 and 17. Senate Democrats said the bill wasn't likely to be considered during Tuesday's special session.

Paterson is urging a vote even if the bill he strongly supports fails. The Democrat says putting senators on the spot for their position is better than inaction while forces try to muster the votes behind the scenes. New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, which opposes the bill, says the failure of a vote Tuesday is a crushing blow to the advocates.

LGBT Rights Rally In Albany

An estimated 2,000 people rallied on the steps of the state capitol in Albany, NY for marriage equality, GENDA, and dignity for all students. Folks came from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, the North Country, the Southern Tier, Hudson Valley, Long Island, NYC and, of course, the Capital District. The event was coordinated by the Empire State Pride Agenda.

New York State Capitol

Getting Ready To Rally And Staying Out Of The 90˚ Heat

Even Studs Want Equal Rights!

The Crowd Was Estimated At 2,000 Activists

Emcee Actor Alan Cumming

GOP Assemblymember Teresa Sayward (113th District) Speaks In Favor Of Equality

Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle

Local WRGB-CBS News Reporter/Personality Ken Screven Covers The Event

Albany Tulip Festival 2008

The 60th Annual Tulip Festival in Albany, NY was this weekend. The festival is one of the first rites of summer and commemorates the region's settlement by Dutch explorers traveling up the Hudson river.

You can engorge the flower photos in this post by clicking on them. If you would like to see more photos, check out my posts from last year. The first post shows the flowers and the second features the people.

The picture above was taken at the east entrance to Washington Park where the festival took place. It is a mass of bird houses set high atop a pole. I didn't see any birds around so I think this is just for show.

Washington Park is where most outdoor cultural events take place in Albany. Starting with the Tulip Festival, it hosts various walks for charity, the Gay Pride Festival, etc. It also has a boat house with a stage and outdoor amphitheater where live outdoor plays are performed. At Christmas time, the park is decorated with lots of holiday lights and displays.

Enjoy the tulips. In some, you can see the grape hyacinths that were used as border plants. The final picture shows the large statue of Moses.

Local Robbery Video Goes Viral

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Albany Pride Parade And Festival

Two mounted police lead the pride parade down Lark Street in Albany. Not quite the size as what they put on in larger cities as you can see but an important presence nonetheless. An orderly crowd and no talk of protesters. I wonder if their tired asses have finally gotten "used to it"!

The parade lasted about 15 minutes and ended in Washington Park where the festival was held. Live music, fair-type fare, and information booths. Hardly any folks selling things and a noticeable lack of rainbow trinkets.


I watched the parade with some old and new friends...not their ages but rather how long I've know them. When I was thinking about this I realized that I never added It's Just Nothing to my blog roll. I chalk it up to one of those things I thought was already done. Anyway, that has been remedied!

Our hero Idle Eyes and a Dormy shook the junk in his trunk on the float for Rocks bar.

Another float in the parade.

It was warm and a tad humid but the overcast sky kept things bearable (but not bare-able).
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Albany Tulip Festival 2007: The Park

When you enter Washington Park from the West, you walk along a pond that has a scenic little bridge that spans the water as a path to the lake house. This is an interesting structure that has a performance space on the north side where free shows are offered to the summer night crowds. The stage is within a bowl that is recessed into the building — think Hollywood Bowl in shape but not nearly as big or nice. Across a paved space from the stage is a tiered space cut into the facing hill for folks to sit and enjoy the entertainment. There are about eight tiers held in place by railroad ties four high and about six feet deep. I'd have taken a picture of this area but they had a "modern" staged place in front of it and it was pretty ugly.

Moving further into the park we encountered our first of the food booths. The friends we met had recommended the pina colada smoothies. Heavy on the pineapple, light on the coconut. Perfect! I also had a chicken pita and oil-soaked spiral cut deep fried potatoes. Nothing to rave about... this was fair-type fare so I can't really complain that I got what I ordered.

As we made our way to the center of the park where the tulips were planted I was surprised by the number of food vendors and booths selling artwork, specialty food items, etc. It reminded me of the pride festivals I've gone to in Atlanta (Piedmont Park) and San Diego (Balboa Park) except there wasn't a rainbow trinket in sight!

We emerged from under the canopy of trees to be greeted by Moses.

Side Note: On my travels, I saw a church sign board that read:

"Don't give up. Even Moses was a basket case."

Next up were the tulip beds. Tons and tons of tulips. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, over 200,000 bulbs were planted. Many of those were grape hyacinths. A picture of those types of flowers will be later in the week as I post the pics I took of mine in our garden last week.

Here are my favorite tulip pictures from the day:














































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Albany Tulip Festival 2007: The People

Our clan of Albany bloggers gathered in Washington Park for the 59th Annual Tulip Festival. More than 200,000 bulbs were planted last fall for the event and the sheer amount and number of varieties* was amazing. The day started off a bit chilly but quickly warmed up. The sun was out the entire day except for a few brief spans of high clouds that gave us some relief and lulled us into a carefree sense of self protection. Call me KFC 'cause the skin on the back of my neck is Extra Crispy. Forgot the sunscreen. Doh!

There were quite a few attractive folks in the crowd. Considering attendance was pegged at upwards of 40,000 people the odds were pretty good. And someone in our group, who shall remain nameless (no, not me), boldly stalked the real head-turners with his camera in tow. The poor shorts-wearing mailman that ventured into the park on his lunch break was quickly set upon by a clandestine operation to commit the image of his legs to (digital camera) memory.

But for every good-looking person, right behind them were 20 scary hillbillies that had loaded their beer, cigarettes, and kids with strollers into their Dodge Darts and headed down the mountain out of the woods and into the city. The crowd was extremely well behaved despite the availability of alcohol and a minimal police presence.

Here's a look at the people I caught on camera in the park:

Blogger A Work In Progress:

Blogger Idle Eyes And A Dormy:

Blogger It's Just Nothing (on the left) and friend James:

Joan Jett was the headline attraction at the event. She and the Blackhearts played their hits and a few new songs in a set that lasted about an hour. It was a free concert and the crowd was rather leisurely in their support for the band. Everyone was mingling and chatting with friends and J.J. was playing the background music. I suspect it would have been a completely different vibe if folks had paid to see her — you would have had hardcore fans there singing along with every song. This was an open air stage and she suffered from a sound system lacking in power and volume.

We spotted this Britney Spears wannabe guarding her bag of kettle corn and showing her cooter:
* Thanks to a tip from Gay Canuck In The Capital, I was able to impress my friends with some "fun with facts" — the variations in color and formation of tulips are actually the result of viruses that infected the crops in Holland in the 1700s!

Next post: Albany Tulip Festival: The Park
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Marriage Equality Rally In Albany

The Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) organized a series of events to support Governor Eliot Spitzer's introduction of Marriage Equality legislation. They bussed in several hundred supporters from as far away as New York City and Syracuse to lobby their state representatives after a gathering to rally on the west lawn of the Capitol.

I snapped this photo as I approached. The building in the background at center, One Commerce Plaza, has been in the news over the past several days as a huge chunk of concrete came crashing down 18 stories from the top of the structure.

After I grabbed some General Tso's chicken, rice, and a couple of egg rolls from a roach coach, I sat to listen to the speakers. They each hammered the political priorities of ESPA: Marriage Equality, GENDA, and Diversity for All Students legislation.

Among the speakers was Danny O'Donnell — New York Assemblyman and brother of Rosie O'Donnell. Of course, whenever anything associated with Rosie O'Donnell is present, Donald Trump isn't far behind.

The rally faced the State Capitol building that houses the State Senate and Assembly. It has Beaux Arts architecture and was constructed in the early 1800's.

This building across the street from the park and Capitol is currently the home of the State Department of Education and was previously the State Museum when I was growing up. It is a huge beautiful building.

After the event, I strolled through the Empire State Plaza, long seen as a boondoggle by Nelson A. Rockefeller who was Governor of New York from 1959-1973. There are several state government office towers, the current state museum, and "The Egg" seen here that has several auditoriums and stages. I've only been in it once and that was in Middle School for a live performance of Macbeth.

Under The Egg is a really large concourse where there are several restaurants, shops, and access to the various buildings above. The Albany Auto Show is held in the concourse. There are also several levels of parking which always seem to be full.

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