The Dirty Martini Lounge
The Dirty Martini Lounge
Welcome to
With Rob and Craig as Your Hosts
It is always Happy Hour at the Dirty Martini Lounge
Contact your hosts at LevisRob@yahoo.com
Though highly recommended, the consumption of alcohol is not required to peruse this site.
Cocktail Hour
at the DML
One of 18,000
An Oakland Couple Shares Their Story
This is a beautiful article about an East Bay couple's journey from dating to marriage limbo.
Waiting on Another Prop 8 Ruling
Congratulations Alice
The Dirty Martini Lounge celebrates the recent graduation of Alice Cabrera from Phoenix University. Rob's sister earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Accounting. Not such a small feat for our sibling who has had a busy year - working full time across the Bay, moving into a new residence, negotiating through the drama of old and new relationships, juggling the expectations of family obligations and exploring the thrills of leather and bondage (jk).
On Sunday, June 27th, the commencement ceremony was held at the HP Pavillion in San Jose. As family members cheered wildly in the aisles, Alice proudly accepted her degree. We congratulate our sister in achieving a very personal goal. Cheers to a very beautiful person.
Pride Parade in Alameda?
. . . American Pride
Alameda, CA An estimated 45,000 spectators lined the streets of Alameda to watch the annual Mayor's July 4th Parade. In a tradition that dates back to the 70's, this parade is known for having the longest route in the country. For over three miles, some 170 contigents march from one end of the island to the other. There is definitely a hometown feel - participants include cars filled with city dignitaries, the police and fire departments, the local boy's and girl's organizations, church groups, businesses, school bands and cheerleaders - all things Americana in a uniquely Alameda way.
Rob's family has been attending the parade for years. Melanie, the youngest sibling, always gets up early in the morning to save the traditional family viewing spot. She brings chairs, blankets and rope to mark the area. One by one, family members will join her, all giddy with antipication of watching another fun-filled procession. The family acknowledges that the parade rarely changes from one year to the next. It's always been about being with one another. You can always find yourself catching the candy being tossed from the floats, buying ice cream from the vendors from Michoacan, and waving and yelling at friends passing by.
After the parade, the family gathered at Mom's house to enjoy the lunch prepared by Wil and Dad. Hot dogs, potato salad, beans, BLTs, cupcakes and just-fried lumpia greeted the returning group.
July 4th is about celebrating our nation's birthday and the traditions families create around the holiday. Just like your favorite slipper, one can always find comfort in something familiar and warm.
The Dirty Martini Lounge's All-Time Dance Favorites
brought to you by Rob and Craig
Which dance song will automatically bring you to your feet and compel you to grab the closest person to join you on the dance floor? We all have a favorite song that either brings back fond memories or just makes us want to get up and boogie.
The DML surveyed Rob and Craig for their all-time faves. Each provided their top two songs. Can you guess Rob or Craig's songs?
Congratulations Candace
Congratulations also goes out to Candace Cabrera, Rob's niece. The young graduate just completed the eighth grade.
So it's off to high school in the fall and what we hope is four years of learning, creating special memories and going to dances, proms and the big game. Candace is shown here with her dad, Joe.
From the Ashes . . .
The Phoenix Rises in Time for the July 4th Parade
Anchorage. AK The local gay community and their straight supporters won first place in this year's July 4th parade with their float entry. This wouldn't be much of a story if it weren't for the incredible 48 hours which preceded the event.
In what is being called a suspicious fire, the original float was completely destroyed. Several witnesses claim that an individual was running from the area just minutes before the first flames were seen. The fire also completely gutted the garage where many of the float supplies were located. Float builders, Paula and Don, for many years have created floats for entry into local Pride parades. The straight couple were excited as this was to be the first time the local gay community entered the July 4th parade.
The fire defeated no one - whether it was arson or pure bad luck. With the help of local businesses and a groundswell of support from the local community, the Imperial Court and friends pulled it off. Not only did they have an entry for the parade - they won first prize.
Fabulous! Don't mess with a girls float, OK. . .
Oakland California
With all the sad and upsetting news coming out of Oakland these days, we thought we'd take a different look at this town. Oakland does have a lot to offer - you can certainly concentrate on the negative aspects, we're not going to do that right now. We're going to talk about the up side of this funky town - past and present.
Rob was born in Oakland in 1959. Certainly a lot has changed since then. His mom, Doreen, worked in Capwell's Department store in the heart of downtown. As a child, Rob would take the bus from his East Oakland neighborhood and venture to Broadway street. Visiting mom at work was an exciting trip for this child. Across the street, next to a parking lot, was a building that housed a donut shop, deli, meat market and grocery store. It was always a treat to eat a turkey sandwich dipped in au jus.
Bio dad would take the Cabrera children to Lake Merritt. Dad would say "Let's go to the park and watch the people play." With all six kids in tow, he would bring them to the bird sanctuary area and buy packets of bird feed to throw in the cages or toss into the water for the ducks. If they were good, the brothers and sisters would get to visit Children's Fairyland. For a quarter, one could buy the plastic elephant key that would activate the story boxes found inside the park. Rob fondly remembers the train ride - the choo choo had a smiling face with eyes that rolled to the back of it's head - while it laughed and traveled along the shore of Lake Merritt.
The Cabrera family operated a diner on the outskirts of Chinatown. The Elite Cafe served traditional American faire, as well as, some Filipino dishes. "I enjoyed my father's fried chicken. That was my favorite," Rob recalls.
The Oakland hills is certainly remembered for the tragic fire in the 90's, but for the Cabrera children it was a place to drive to and do the typical teenager activities - like making out and getting drunk.
Today, Rob can still be found in the hood meeting up with friends and family. Places to go: Bakesale Betty's, Mua's, Lukas, the Bench and Bar, Lake Merritt Bakery and Restaurant, Jack London Square, the Oakland Museum, Lake Chalet, Farmer's Market on Grand Avenue, Oakland Grill, Latonya's house, Tim's house, Alice's apartment, Z Cafe and Bar, the Paramount Theatre, the Fox Theatre, Sistahs Steppin in Pride . . .
Although the sports teams haven't done well in recent years, the Warriors, A's and Raiders each have a colorful history.
So while the media and bloggers concentrate on the obvious, we are going to focus on the ignored. Go Oakland!
BTW, anarchists should stay out of Oakland - users!
As many of you know, Craig is a history teacher at a local continuation high school. Here is a lesson plan which he created for his study of Oakland . . .
Historically Speaking
The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 linked California directly with the eastern United States. In the decade after the railway's completion, tens of thousands of farmers, urban laborers, and potential business owners made the trek west to start new lives in the Golden State. Alluring advertisements tempted easterners to travel to California both for business and pleasure.
This growth helped Californians who already had profitable businesses, and it also helped expand markets for goods, job opportunities, and cultural and community activities and institutions. Towns along railway lines grew and prospered, while those passed by withered and some died. People already oppressed in California, such as Californios (people of Mexican heritage), Native Americans, and Chinese immigrants, found their status lowered even further with the onslaught of white Americans moving west.
Railroads encouraged economic growth in California by reducing transportation costs, making remote lands and resources accessible, enlarging markets for producers, raising land values, and increasing many people's incomes. One of the first consequences of the transcontinental railroad was the growth in size and influence of Oakland, California.
Oakland had been a steamboat port settled in the 1850s across from San Francisco. In 1868, the western end of the transcontinental railroad was undetermined. The logical terminus was San Francisco, the region's most westward city and directly connected to international sea trade routes. Horace Carpentier, the founder of Oakland, convinced the "Big Four" in charge of the Central Pacific Railroad to end the railway in Oakland in exchange for his interest in the Oakland Waterfront Company, giving the railroad access to steamboat lines. The CP also constructed a huge rail yard and servicing facility in Oakland.
The Central Pacific's arrival had an immediate impact on Oakland. Travelers jammed downtown hotels, restaurants, and shops. Commerce increased and land values rose, causing a commercial and residential building boom as new neighborhoods with ornate Victorian homes went up. Industries rushed into the city to be nearer to the railroad and wharf.
As employment rose, so too did population. In 1868 Oakland was a village of about 2,000 inhabitants, whose streets wound around the oak trees the town had been named for. By 1870 the population swelled to 10,500, with straightened streets replacing the sprawling oaks. In 1880, with 35,000 residents, Oakland had grown into the second largest city in California and the west.
Oakland quickly modernized after the arrival of the railroad. The increased population expanded its wealth and tax base, and brought new ideas and technologies. Schools, churches, and local government agencies multiplied, as did social, cultural, and professional organizations. Telephone service arrived in 1878, only two years after its invention, and electricity followed in the 1880s. Oakland's system of horsecar trolley lines, Central Pacific commuter lines, and cable cards extended throughout the east bay, connecting Oakland with the growing communities that included Berkeley to the north and San Leandro and Hayward to the south. By the 1880s, Oakland was the center of a growing east bay metropolitan region, and the city was a thriving, attractive, comfortable city comparable and even more superior to some older eastern cities.
Not all Oakland residents prospered equally after the arrival of the railroad. Although many business owners and real estate speculators grew wealthy, the working-class majority, and especially racial and ethnic minorities, were left out of the expanding wealth. Chinese, African American, Mexican, and some European immigrants were pushed into the least desirable urban neighborhoods, such as West Oakland, which, from its start, was home to some of the city's poorest residents. Some African American men found stable work as railroad waiters and porters. Others were able to obtain other physical labor jobs offered by the Central Pacific and steamship lines. For most minorities, low-paying service or industrial jobs were the norm. Chinese immigrants, at times the most discriminated against minority, founded a Chinatown district in Oakland that survives to today.
Not all workers accepted their lot in life. Labor strikes became common, though most labor unions forbade membership by minority workers, who were left with no protections offered by collective bargaining for wages and working conditions. However, with more and more people moving to California from around the country and around the world, wages were held low and charities strained to help those in need. Frequently, immigrants, especially those from China, were blamed by white workers for everything from lower wages to drug abuse and prostitution.
Disgruntled white workers rallied around the anti-Chinese Workingmen's Party of California, which was founded in 1877. The party supported expelling the Chinese from California and restricting their rights until they were forced out. Though unsuccessful in exiling Chinese laborers, the party was successful in causing Oakland and other cities to adopt ordinances discriminating against the Chinese in housing, employment, and city services. The party faded away in 1880, but the discriminatory ordinances remained.
Today the Port of Oakland, the fourth busiest in the United States, stands where the Central Pacific's wharf once stood. Trains still rumble through the city, connecting both with the port and with other destinations to the north, south, and east. West Oakland remains a neighborhood in need, and the city's Chinatown district continues to thrive. Immigrants continue to face challenges in the city, and African Americans, the city's majority for many years until recently, continue to struggle with poverty and generations of discrimination. Oakland's hills and other select gentrified neighborhoods house the economic descendants of the successful business owners of the 1870s, and it's downtown is undergoing a slow redevelopment and revitalization. Oakland's population now stands at about 400,000, making it once of the largest cities in northern California. Though the city faces serious challenges, Oakland would not be the city it is today without the decision of the "Big Four" to end the transcontinental railroad at its steamboat port.
Oakland had been a steamboat port settled in the 1850s across from San Francisco. In 1868, the western end of the transcontinental railroad was undetermined. The logical terminus was San Francisco, the region's most westward city and directly connected to international sea trade routes. Horace Carpentier, the founder of Oakland, convinced the "Big Four" in charge of the Central Pacific Railroad to end the railway in Oakland in exchange for his interest in the Oakland Waterfront Company, giving the railroad access to steamboat lines. The CP also constructed a huge rail yard and servicing facility in Oakland.
The Central Pacific's arrival had an immediate impact on Oakland. Travelers jammed downtown hotels, restaurants, and shops. Commerce increased and land values rose, causing a commercial and residential building boom as new neighborhoods with ornate Victorian homes went up. Industries rushed into the city to be nearer to the railroad and wharf.
As employment rose, so too did population. In 1868 Oakland was a village of about 2,000 inhabitants, whose streets wound around the oak trees the town had been named for. By 1870 the population swelled to 10,500, with straightened streets replacing the sprawling oaks. In 1880, with 35,000 residents, Oakland had grown into the second largest city in California and the west.
Oakland quickly modernized after the arrival of the railroad. The increased population expanded its wealth and tax base, and brought new ideas and technologies. Schools, churches, and local government agencies multiplied, as did social, cultural, and professional organizations. Telephone service arrived in 1878, only two years after its invention, and electricity followed in the 1880s. Oakland's system of horsecar trolley lines, Central Pacific commuter lines, and cable cards extended throughout the east bay, connecting Oakland with the growing communities that included Berkeley to the north and San Leandro and Hayward to the south. By the 1880s, Oakland was the center of a growing east bay metropolitan region, and the city was a thriving, attractive, comfortable city comparable and even more superior to some older eastern cities.
Not all Oakland residents prospered equally after the arrival of the railroad. Although many business owners and real estate speculators grew wealthy, the working-class majority, and especially racial and ethnic minorities, were left out of the expanding wealth. Chinese, African American, Mexican, and some European immigrants were pushed into the least desirable urban neighborhoods, such as West Oakland, which, from its start, was home to some of the city's poorest residents. Some African American men found stable work as railroad waiters and porters. Others were able to obtain other physical labor jobs offered by the Central Pacific and steamship lines. For most minorities, low-paying service or industrial jobs were the norm. Chinese immigrants, at times the most discriminated against minority, founded a Chinatown district in Oakland that survives to today.
Not all workers accepted their lot in life. Labor strikes became common, though most labor unions forbade membership by minority workers, who were left with no protections offered by collective bargaining for wages and working conditions. However, with more and more people moving to California from around the country and around the world, wages were held low and charities strained to help those in need. Frequently, immigrants, especially those from China, were blamed by white workers for everything from lower wages to drug abuse and prostitution.
Disgruntled white workers rallied around the anti-Chinese Workingmen's Party of California, which was founded in 1877. The party supported expelling the Chinese from California and restricting their rights until they were forced out. Though unsuccessful in exiling Chinese laborers, the party was successful in causing Oakland and other cities to adopt ordinances discriminating against the Chinese in housing, employment, and city services. The party faded away in 1880, but the discriminatory ordinances remained.
Today the Port of Oakland, the fourth busiest in the United States, stands where the Central Pacific's wharf once stood. Trains still rumble through the city, connecting both with the port and with other destinations to the north, south, and east. West Oakland remains a neighborhood in need, and the city's Chinatown district continues to thrive. Immigrants continue to face challenges in the city, and African Americans, the city's majority for many years until recently, continue to struggle with poverty and generations of discrimination. Oakland's hills and other select gentrified neighborhoods house the economic descendants of the successful business owners of the 1870s, and it's downtown is undergoing a slow redevelopment and revitalization. Oakland's population now stands at about 400,000, making it one of the largest cities in northern California. Though the city faces serious challenges, Oakland would not be the city it is today without the decision of the "Big Four" to end the transcontinental railroad at its steamboat port.
Videos That Make Us Smile
Simple words say so much. This song tells it like it is. The kids in the video are very straight forward on expressing their feelings. Oh to be young again.
Comedian and TV actor, Alec Mapa, was recently a guest on the View. She had the four ladies wetting themselves. This girl is a role model for gay and Filipino youth. You can be yourself and absolutely fabulous at the same time. It's great to see someone on TV that we can identify.
