I received my homeowner’s insurance renewal notice on Saturday. Last year premium rose almost 50%. This year the premium is increasing by $2400.00. The renewal notice advised I was getting a discount for not having any claims. I can’t help but wonder what the increase would be if I had a claim. I’ll be looking for a new insurance company.
I’m headed to the Colorado State Capitol for the No Kings protest at noon. Thousands are expected to attend the protest. Just about a mile away, the Denver Summit, our women’s professional soccer team, will play their inaugural home game at Empower Field at Mile High. Kickoff is also at noon. They are expecting over 60,000 people to attend the soccer game. The attendance will set a National Women’s Soccer Leage (NWSL) record. It’s going to be an epic day in Denver.
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I try to walk the fine line between staying informed with current events and getting sucked down a rabbit hole of doom, destruction and sadness. I started listening to selections from various operas on YouTube TV in order to avoid news coverage. A few days ago, I was researching new cars on my laptop in the family room. A song started playing which I was familiar with by didn’t know the title or singer. I looked up at the TV and was surprised to see Sally. Sally was singing Queen of the Night from the Magic Flute. I had dinner with Sally and her husband, Kevin, several times at my neighbor’s house.
I called my neighbor, Sheila, the retired opera singer who hosted the dinners. I asked Sheila if she knew Sally was on YouTube singing Queen of the Night. Sheila informed me Sally was famous for singing that aria.
I knew Sally and Kevin had successful opera careers, but I never realized how famous they were in the opera world. They were simply Sally and Kevin who were great dinner companions with fascinating stories. It’s rather strange meeting people and enjoying their company only to later find out they have reached a level of success and fame many people only dream about. I was able to get to know them as people and not as a fan adoring a star.
Yesterday, I was once again listening to a rotation of operas. A selection came on with a very deep masculine voice singing. I looked up to see Kevin’s face on the screen. I texted Sheila to let her know I found Kevin on YouTube. She responded by saying Kevin was just as famous as Sally. Who knew? Apparently, Sheila knew.
Posted in friends, my life | 6 Comments »
Double A organized a group to attend a Drag Queen Bingo LBGTQ+ fundraiser at the Jewish Community Center. The event was held on a Saturday evening, saving me from another weekend night of binging something on Netflix. Our party of eight secured a table towards the back of the auditorium. A spread of vegetarian appetizers was set up in the adjacent room along with a cash bar. The evening had a rocky start when Double A returned to the table with a serving of wine in a plastic cup which cost $13. He bitched about the price because he can buy a whole bottle of his favorite wine at the grocery store for less than $13 and that in previous years two drink tickets accompanied the $50 ticket to attend. I reminded him we were at a fundraiser whose mission was to raise money for the cause.
When the event started, I found the sound system turned up too high. I attended many loud rock concerts in my youth, so I do have some hearing loss. Yet I found myself covering my ears at times. The guy sitting next to me was wearing ear plugs because he found the event too loud last year. The drag queens were definitely D-list. None would have qualified for RuPaul’s Drag Race. Their jokes were stale and most landed flat. The event was unorganized, which helps explain why it took almost an hour to play the first bingo game.
As I sat there at a table of men in their mid to late sixties, I couldn’t help but wonder who would be first to die. All have some type of health issue. Some are more serious than others. How did this become my peer group?
I left at the halfway point. The others left soon after me. It felt good to support an LGBTQ+ cause but next year I’ll simply make a donation and skip the hulaballo.
Posted in friends, my life | 6 Comments »
My accountant efiled my taxes yesterday. The money I owed was deducted from my account overnight. I guess the government needs money to buy more bombs for the new war.
Last year my income rose due to an increase in investment income. For years I gave my investment advisor free reign when selecting stocks. He’s done well and my net worth increases every year. Last August I reviewed my portfolio. I found a large holding of Palantir stock, the highly controversial American software company, which until recently, was based in Denver. I asked my advisor to liquidate my holding resulting in a large amount of capital gains. That gain along with other investment income has pushed me into a higher tax bracket. The higher income also increased my quarterly tax payments by $1,500 in 2026. In addition, my Medicare payments in 2027 will also go up. It’s the cost of dancing with the devil.
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Many activities to choose from this weekend as well as gallery shows on Friday night.
Posted in my life, politics | 12 Comments »
Sometimes you have to stop being nice and get down in the gutter and fight. Headed to another protest tomorrow.
Posted in my life, politics | 8 Comments »
Daddy and I met in the Golden Triangle a week ago for gallery openings. Daddy’s boy toy was working an evening shift at an Amazon warehouse, so it was just to two of us. The 2026 art season was in full swing with some of my favorite artists exhibiting new works. Checking out the new presentations was a welcome respite from the relentless political unrest as well as a reprieve from the petulant rants from the morally-bankrupt malignant narcissist.
I hadn’t seen Daddy since before the holidays. While taking a break on comfortable chairs in one gallery, Daddy informed me JP was upset with me because I told him I didn’t think we would travel well together when invited to spend a long weekend in Aspen. Daddy accompanied JP on the trip after which Daddy regretted going because of JP’s frugal ways. Who wants to eat hot dogs and pizza from a gas station convenience store to save money when you’re in a culinary paradise? Daddy’s tales of JP’s cheapness confirmed I made a judicious decision.
While walking back to the car at the end of the evening, Daddy told me about a small dinner party he hosted on a Saturday night before JP left for Palm Springs, and Paul (a man I met socially a few times) moved to Bordeaux. The third guest was also a man I know socially but keep at distance as we have diametrically opposed political views. The third guest left just after dinner as he was lectoring at a 7 a.m. Sunday church service. This left JP and Paul to get cozy on the sofa while Daddy cleaned up the kitchen. Neither JP nor Paul offered to help Daddy, which detained him in the kitchen for a while. With the kitchen cleaned, Daddy joined his guests in the living room only to find JP barebacking Paul on his sofa. Daddy was furious. JP and Paul tried to defuse the situation by inviting Daddy to join them. Daddy threw them out.
Daddy had his sofa professionally cleaned. He sent the bill to JP. JP refused to pay the bill, arguing the sofa was not new so it was due for a cleaning and that Paul should help pay too. Paul moved to France the Monday after the party which left JP culpable. JP only wants to pay a third of the bill. The $125 bill remains unpaid.
Daddy cancelled a planned trip to Palm Springs to visit JP. He’s had it with JP and his penny-pinching ways. I’m not sure if the friendship will recover.
I consider myself to be a sex positive guy, yet I can’t help but wonder if JP has lost all sense of decorum. JP has a history of making questionable decisions when hooking up. JP goes to the gym in Palm Springs every day with the hope of hooking up in the steam room. JP boasts of his steam room conquests. He doesn’t consider how his actions will affect others. Having sex on your host’s sofa while he cleans up after a dinner party is deplorable. Failing to pay the cleaning bill further exasperates the situation. Given JP lives a few blocks away Daddy on the other side of the park compounds the aggrievance. One must ask why JP didn’t take Paul to his house?
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Tom Holman, White House Border Czar, was accused of accepting a $50,000 bribe. The investigation was closed by the Department of Justice after Holman was appointed Border Czar. Cleary a man of upstanding moral character. Holman is now claiming that protesting ICE can be defined as terrorism.
My day started by enjoying a nice breakfast while scrolling through Instagram. I came across a post announcing an ICE protest on west lawn of the Capitol at noon. In the late morning, I headed to the Golden Triangle to get a burrito at Torchy’s before walking over the protest. The protest was smaller than usual given the short notice. I stayed a little over an hour listening to the speeches and observing the peaceful crowd.
After the protest, I walked over to Spark Gallery to check out their new member’s show. After Spark I walked across the plaza to look for a book in the gift shop at the Denver Art Museum. After the museum, I headed to Cherry Creek making stops at the Container Store, Nordstrom and the Vans store. On the way home I picked up a few items at Whole Foods. I spent the rest of the day watching the last two hours of Stranger Things followed by the Golden Globes.
Sounds absolutely terrifying, doesn’t it?
Posted in my life, politics | 4 Comments »
The Retired Corporate Slave 