sebastian white online :: blog archives

About Me

Photos | Writing

Search | Home

Circus injuries: healed.

For those of you who are keeping track of my recent sporting injuries, I'm pleased to report that my scars from last month's trapeze lesson have finally healed. It only took 30 days, but my hands are no longer bleeding.

Posted by Sebastian / SFGW / April 30, 2006 /

Vancouver

The other day I was at a bar when a guy came up to me and told me he's been on my site before--OK, weird (just kidding, I appreciated it)--and he also told me he likes my photos, which I'll admit I tend to put up when I'm really pressed for time. So tonight, knowing that someone is actually looking at this site for the pictures, I'll add one more.

As usual, I'm a sucker for a pretty sunset, and I just came across this one in a stack of photos from a Vancouver trip. Simple, but so characteristic of what it's like in Vancouver, where life revolves around nature: the parks, the seawall, and the beaches looking out to the Pacific along English Bay.

Posted by Sebastian / Vancouver / April 26, 2006 /

Andrew Bundy

This week in San Francisco I had the pleasure of checking out a performance by my friend Andrew Bundy. Not only is Andy an amazing person, but he is also the only friend I have who can truly sing well. He is a jazzy mix of Stevie Wonder, Tori Amos, and Harry Connick, Jr. -- if you can imagine that.

Download his MP3s from MySpace (I recommend "Where Did I Go Yesterday") and put them on your iPod. Then look for him at a performance at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square May 3. We're both running in Bay to Breakers on May 21--I can't disclose what Andy's costume will be, but let's just say it is not to be missed.

Posted by Sebastian / Music / SF / April 21, 2006 /

Santana Row

Among the few redeeming qualities about San Jose is Santana Row, a mixed-use development that opened a few years ago and is surprisingly cool -- as far as completely made-up communities go. Upscale retailers and some very good restaurants (a couple chains aside) are on the street level; condos are up top. It feels more like Southern California than Northern, and that's just what the planners had in mind: it was designed to be the Bay Area's answer to Rodeo Drive.

From the Mercury News: "It is fake, but at least you feel like you're in Europe, or in a different place than here.''

Posted by Sebastian / San Jose / April 20, 2006 /

San Jose

You may not know that San Jose is bigger than San Francisco and is the biggest city in northern California. Fifty years ago a mere 95,000 people lived here; now there are 1 million. And that living is good living: with the highest median income in the U.S., households in San Jose also have the highest disposable income of any large American city.

San Jose is, of course, the epicenter of Silicon Valley, a sprawling patchwork of suburban office parks and corporate campuses, but its downtown is lifeless. The last time I was here, in 2002, I thought it couldn't get less exciting, but after spending a couple days here this week, I know it has gotten worse. There are only a handful of nice buildings in downtown, two of which are pictured below. Nothing is too tall since the airport is smack dab in the city, and the skyline is in the flight path (which makes it very cool to stick your head out your hotel window and practically touch landing planes.)

Admittedly, the views outside my hotel (pictured below) to Plaza de Caesar Chavez, where California's first state capitol once stood, weren't that bad. Of course the historic seat of government that once stood on the downtown square has been replaced by a fountain, but who cares, right?

Posted by Sebastian / San Jose / April 20, 2006 /

100 Years Ago: The Great Earthquake

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake that forever changed San Francisco. I'm thrilled to be in the city this week for commemorations of the quake and fire that ripped SF to pieces. Thousands died and hundreds of thousands were left homeless, but the earthquake and fire spurred an unprecedented rebuilding effort that brought us San Francisco as we know it today. The city's decline in the aftermath of the earthquake and fire diverted businesses and people to Los Angeles and transformed that city it into the largest and most important in the western United States. In mere seconds San Francisco lost its place as the hub the west, but it never lost its standing as the coolest city west of the Rockies.

• Earthquake Commemorations
• Could it happen again? The great catastrophe of 2006 [chron]
• 100 Years Later, Learning from Disaster [nyt]

Posted by Sebastian / San Francisco / April 18, 2006 /

Changing visions of San Francisco

Before making the abrupt decision to move to New York this winter, I figured I would be moving to San Francisco in short order. I've spent so much time here and gotten to know the city so well that it seemed like a natural fit for me. Friends and family are here, and Vancouver aside, there's no other city that makes me feel so refreshed and revitalized (although hot-tub nights in LA sure used to do the trick, as well).

I had such a deep yearning to be in San Francisco for so long. But now that I live in Manhattan, I no longer feel that pull that I once felt constantly. Perhaps it's because I am falling more in love with New York every day and because things there have worked out far better than I could have ever imagined. That being said, I still love San Francisco. I shed all anxieties upon landing here. Having grown up on the ocean, the fog and the cool breezes of the city feel so centering; New York may be on the water, but it's not tied to the sea -- physically and psychologically -- the way San Francisco is.

Posted by Sebastian / San Francisco / April 16, 2006 /

The JetBlue Clubhouse

A couple years ago in The New York Observer there was a hilarious article, "Society Flaps South," about how the launch of frequent flights to Palm Beach by JetBlue has led to a resurgence in interest in the city among New Yorkers. This morning as I hung out in the JetBlue terminal at JFK waiting for a flight to San Francisco, I couldn't help but feel like I was living a live version of that article. The terminal had the distinctive air of a society clubhouse. Everyone and their mother was headed south. From the article:

On a recent Friday afternoon, Manhattan society hostess and art collector Beth de Woody was sitting in Terminal 6 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, awaiting her JetBlue flight to Palm Beach, when she ran into Caroline Hirsch, owner of Caroline’s Comedy Club, and her boyfriend, attorney Andrew Fox. "We were all hanging out in the lounge, discussing our seats, and my assistant had booked me in the emergency row, and it turned out we were all randomly sitting next to each other!" Ms. de Woody said excitedly. "Then we saw [Democratic National Committee member] Robert Zimmerman, and Andrew said as a joke, ‘Don’t tell me you’re 6D’—and he was! It was the four of us all together.

At two and a half hours, the flight takes no longer than the Hampton Jitney’s trek along the Long Island Expressway. But instead of cell-phone squawkers and share-house frat boys, Neue Galerie committee members mingle with Wellington polo players, and Manhattan art dealers air-kiss Wall Street power players. "It’s like the equivalent of when people knew each other on the Concorde to London." Mr. Podolsky said.

"I take pride in it," Ms. Boardman declared of the cheapie airline. "There’s a sense of fun in traveling. Everyone’s in the same class, eating Terra Blue chips and looking forward to their daiquiris. It’s like they’re all on their way to the clubhouse!"

Posted by Sebastian / Aviation / April 16, 2006 /

One better

I am going to go out on a limb and be the first person to ever quote Tony from the Genex blog in a positive light. Tony, a friend of a friend, regularly gets harassed in comments on his blogs by people who believe he is the most shallow person to ever strut down the streets of Manhattan.

In, "One Better," Tony described the trend of NYC men always being on the lookout looking for a mate who is just a little bit better than their current one. Apparently he's not the only one who thinks that's what's going on. Recently in Toronto, I was lunching with a former New Yorker who told me it's what he misses least about living there: "You can be the smartest, richest, cutest guy, but no one wants to commit because they think there's got to be someone even smarter, richer, and cuter out there." Tony's take on it:

The concept of One Better certainly isn't limited to the island of Manhattan. But it is understandably its Mecca. Tens of thousands of eligible men run the streets, and no one can stand still long enough to settle down with one of them. Any perception of flaw (pick one: appearance, body, chemistry, emotional intelligence, career, family background, timing, ex situation...) and it's on to the next one. I realize it sounds as though Manhattan is an island full of superficial, social climbing assholes. While there are certainly plenty of those, that's not who I'm talking about. I'm talking about real people searching for a connection that is true to them. Smart, intelligent individuals looking for love, but gun shy about commitment. And when "the one" may just be the next guy they meet, it isn't hard to understand why they put off settling down and continue their search.

So as far as the game goes, I offer no solutions. Just a few thoughts. Does settling down with someone require a conscious, mature decision? Or will you just know the right one when he shows up? I'm a firm believer that no one is perfect and if you are searching for perfection you won't find it. However I do believe that there is someone out there who is perfect for you. And when you meet him or her, hopefully you'll know it. Hopefully you won't play them one better.

Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 15, 2006 /

On writing

It's been almost five years since I first heard the song "Cry Ophelia" by Adam Cohen, Leonard's singer-songwriter son. I remember liking it a lot back then (perhaps it was the "Dawson's Creek" soundtrack connection), but recently I rediscovered it and it has taken on new meaning considering everything that has gone on in life since then.

Something went wrong
You are not laughing
It’s not so easy now to get your smile
You gotta be strong
To walk these streets
And keep from falling
But when you’re not, just let yourself cry

In talking about writing this song, Cohen once said, "I fall in love every day with someone, something or a place..It's the result of an acrobatic imagination. I suppose the darkness comes from the fact that I suffer great disappointment with life on a regular basis and the best therapy is to write about it. It's song-writing as exorcism." That line hit me: it's why I write. And then I found this great Joan Didion quote that went even further: "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear."

Posted by Sebastian / Music / SFGW / April 13, 2006 /

A mini college reunion

The other night a whole slew of college friends reunited at a pair of parties in NYC. Here is me and my senior year roommate Becca, and me with our dear friend Brighid. What the hell am I doing with my big mouth?

Posted by Sebastian / Alfred / SFGW / April 13, 2006 /

Republicans go for the smaller balls

There is an article in this week's Economist that compares Republican vs. Democratic congressmen and their golf abilities and schedules. It turns out the Republicans play more golf. "Why? Working people play basketball, middle-income people play baseball and wealthy people play golf, guesses Mark Udall, the top golfer among congressional Democrats. 'Republicans are the party of the wealthy, [and] the wealthier you get, the smaller your balls become,' he adds. But he expects the game to become more bipartisan and, perhaps, to make better politicians."

Posted by Sebastian / Politics / Sports / April 13, 2006 /

Hate crime in Paradise

The story of the gay-bashing of CBS News producer Dick Jefferson and two of his friends as they vacationed in Saint Maarten is finally picking up some steam in the press. Today, Good Morning America featured an interview by Jeffrey Kofman with two of the victims.

Dick was knocked unconscious with a four-pronged tire wrench; one of his friends, Ryan Smith, is in a Miami hospital with a crushed skull. Ryan's boyfriend jumped onto the hood of their assailant's speeding car to avoid being run over by it. The story is awful enough, but the gravity of the situation really is compounded when you know the person; though I can't say that Dick is a friend of mine, we have met on numerous occasions through mutual friends at CBS and he has always seemed charming and kind.

• From Kenneth in the 212: My Dick Gets Gay-Bashed

Posted by Sebastian / Media / April 12, 2006 /

Ride 'em, cowboy

There have been rumors that I rode a bucking bronco recently, and now there is photographic evidence. A friend snapped these pics of me at the Gay Rodeo Association's booth during last month's Gay Life Expo in New York.

Posted by Sebastian / SFGW / April 12, 2006 /

Open bar?

I am not usually one to pass up free tickets to anything, let alone all-access VIP tickets, so over the weekend my friend Chris and I checked out the Gen Art Film Festival here in New York. The festival had some questionable films, but the real entertainment was at their nightly open-bar afterparties, held at various clubs around Manhattan.

We checked out the party at Happy Valley (27th and Fifth), where, above the bar, is a pair of women's legs - spread just so as to make a touch of irony out of the club's name. The legs run the length of the room and when Chris and I, sober, looked up and noticed them, we knew we were in the wrong place. But no matter, it was an open bar, so we persisted.

The film festival clearly takes the term "open bar" loosely- vodka and Stella Artois, that's it. And they had the gall to run out by the time we sidled up to the bar for our third drink! Another bit of false advertising: they claimed the parties would be "celeb-studded" but we were the only stars we saw there.

Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 12, 2006 /

For Sale: A White Elephant, Scandal Included

The New York Times has taken a neat look at an old scandal-plagued building in downtown Toronto that is expected to hit the real estate market shortly.

No. 10 Toronto Street was the office for media mogul Conrad Black but now his protracted legal troubles in both the U.S. and Canada, and those of his holding company, Hollinger, mean the building is no longer needed.

The agent handling the sale "said he did not know whether the building's security camera system would be included; last year it captured Lord Black and some of his personal employees removing boxes out a back door in defiance of a Canadian court order."

Posted by Sebastian / Real Estate / Toronto / April 11, 2006 /

Swingin' Calgary

Everyone, it seems, is talking about swingin' Calgary and its free-flowing oil money that is rapidly changing the place into one of the wealthiest cities on the continent.

Maclean's ran a front-page spread last week that was a very interesting read. But they do keep things real by reminding us that despite its impressive skyline, the growing city is truly "a mass of bland modernity."

Here are a few other choice quotes, in no particular order:

"Get over it, Toronto. Oil-rich Calgary is the new centre of the universe -- and the party's just getting started," the magazine says.

"'Calgary is a city on steroids,' Vince Wong, the owner of a popular nightclub says. 'I don't want to be anywhere else. It's non-stop.'"

"A vital marker of Calgary money is having at least one other house, with Phoenix or Hawaii being favoured hot-weather destinations. 'The only way to enjoy Calgary is to leave Calgary,' Peter Linder, an oil and gas analyst at DeltaOne Capital in Calgary, says, half in jest."

"The artist Jenny Holzer once created a bold installation piece that read 'money creates taste.' The maxim plays out in Calgary."

Posted by Sebastian / Calgary / April 11, 2006 /

Overheard in New York

Last night, hopping on the subway at 23rd Street, I had my own Overheard in New York moment: Grumpy old man gets on the train, surveys the crowd and says, "Look at all these ugly faces! These are the ugliest fu$%ing faces God ever breathed life into."

Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 11, 2006 /

Shameless plug

I recently discovered the blog of a charming friend-of-a-friend and I'm seriously in love with it: Kenneth in the 212.

Posted by Sebastian / Blogs / April 11, 2006 /

Poor New York, Part Deux

My last post on "Poor Gay New York" elicited a few emails, most of which sounded curiously like Joyce Purnick's column in yesterday's New York Times. In her piece, Purnick says that even after years in New York, and years of writing about the city, "I still haven't figured out how or why New York City works."

"New York thrives on imagination and reinvention. Ever-changing, it is more an idea than a place, a fantasy that has developed the veneer of reality because we New Yorkers believe in the fairy tale. The ultimate urban myth."

"New York City is, of course, a jigsaw of ethnic and racial enclaves, of the rich, the poor and the in-between, of the struggling immigrant and the billionaire businessman and the diligent striver. We occupy our own worlds and know that other worlds live next door but few of us drop by."

"The city always was, and still is, mostly about money. Its economic, political and journalistic establishments demand a semblance of stability and restore it when imbalance threatens the bottom line. Then the politicians have to respond."

Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 11, 2006 /

Busy-ness

My good friend John recently told me that while he is dismayed that I am no longer able to update this site daily, he takes it as a good sign. "If you were blogging every day, in New York, I'd be worried." My new time filler is constant running and biking along the Hudson River, shown here on Sunday. During warm and sunny weekends, it's the perfect place to go get a sunburn, and during the after-work hours, there is no better place to be to relax and take in the dense aesthetic of the city--from a slight distance--against the backdrop of a setting sun.

Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 11, 2006 /

Poor New York

Last night I ate frog legs with a friend (I am not even joking). That’s not the point of my story – I just had to insert that to prove to those of you who know me well that I am becoming more adventurous. Afterwards, we were enjoying some delish chocolate cake at Billy’s and talking about life in New York. I said something along the lines of “Life in New York is easy.” My friend Chris said something simple that struck me – “The bad thing about New York is that you need a lot of money.”

It reminded me instantly of an article I read in the New York Times almost three years ago about the lives of homeless gay youth in New York. "I think it's shameful that these kids are out there alone and in danger, in a city where gay men have so much money," the head of a GLBT youth homeless shelter was quoted as saying. When that article first ran, during a weekend when a whole slew of my friends and I were enjoying Gay Pride in NYC, I forwarded it to a few dozen gay friends in New York, the vast majority of whom are not hurting. In my blog I commented that, “One of the more shameful realities of the gay homeless issue is that no one replied or even mentioned the article to me.”

And in another instance that reminded me of that incredible article, just the other day I was approached by a leader of another shelter for GLBT youth in New York who was soliciting donations. But she wasn’t looking for money. She was looking for just $2 MetroCards. She explained that those homeless teens who won’t go to a shelter and who instead try to take refuge in the subways often do so by jumping the turnstiles. Empowering them with something as easy as subway fare means that they can get into stations and out of the elements without facing fines or arrests for turnstile jumping. It's amazing how something as seemingly minor as a one-ride MetroCard can truly help someone out.

Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 6, 2006 /

Canada won't legalize pot

It's estimated that one marijuana growing operation exists on each block in Vancouver, and that abundance of supply has encouraged many to push for legalization or decriminalization of marijuana. But Stephen Harper, the new prime minister, said this week he will scrap legislation that was proposed by his predecessor that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of pot. The pot trade is believed to be an $8.5 billion USD a year industry in Canada.

Posted by Sebastian / Canada / April 5, 2006 /

An evening of poetry

Last night at Poetry & the Creative Mind, the annual benefit of the Academy of American Poets, I had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with Gloria Vanderbilt – a.k.a. mother of my future ex-husband, Anderson Cooper. She truly is timeless; she doesn’t look a day over 120. Her face was so tight and so lifted it was like she was blinking with her lips. Clearly she’s 'gone to Arizona,' as they say, once or twice, or maybe three or four times.

The event featured ten well-known figures--including Wynton Marsalis, Mike Wallace, and Alan Alda--reading their most beloved poems. Meryl Streep was a show-stopper, not because of her rapturous selections, but because she fell on stage as she was being introduced. She caught the lip of her chair just as she went to be seated, and it was all downhill from there.

Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 5, 2006 /

Maine real estate is hot!

My friend's parents just moved to Maine, which piqued my interest in discovering the latest real estate prices. Check out these gems, clockwise from top left: a beautiful Rockport Harbor estate ($4.5 million); a gracious city home in Portland's West End that realtors claim has views of New Hampshire's White Mountains -- somehow, I'm skeptical ($1.6 million); an old farmhouse on Camden's prestigious Chestnut Street -- one of my fav streets, where your neighbor will be the former CEO of Apple Computer ($735,000); and a cute village house on North Haven island ($350,000).

Posted by Sebastian / Maine / Real Estate / April 1, 2006 /