Matters of Grave Importance

Today was the birthday of Mr. Monkey's late mother.

Little Monkey Niece wasn't sad, only sleepy. She is still too young to understand the concept of death, and she had lots of fun with the flowers we brought.

We left the cemetery and had lunch together at Cowboy's Steakhouse (227 W. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel), a restaurant that serves Asian-ized American food.


Don't know what that is? Imagine steak and spaghetti made by Chinese people.


Little Monkey Niece enjoyed coloring.

Mr. Monkey got a green apple slush.

Our meals came with salad, corn chowder, and garlic bread.



Mr. Monkey had the beef filet and shrimp hot plate combo ($15.75).

Mr. Monkey's brother opted for the chicken and calamari combo ($13.75).

I dined on the rib-eye and fish combo ($14.75).

Each of our meals arrived sizzling and smoking. They made us stink. The food at Cowboy's isn't bad, but it wasn't worth having smoky hair all day. I would consider returning if I wore crappy clothes and didn't have to go anywhere afterward. Actually, I would probably try a non-hot-plate entree to avoid the beef perfume.

Unfortunately for me (and for the people around me), I did have to go elsewhere today, engulfed in beefy stench. Next stop: Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

About 40 people, including Diabolina, Sable Crow, Trisha, Trisha's friend A, and yours truly, participated in the shooting of a public service announcement video to aid the effort to repeal Prop 8.

This is B, the mastermind behind this video. Three cheers for B!

A little fun post-shoot...

Shooting a video makes you hungry, so we headed to Buddha's Belly for dinner.
********THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.********

Authentic Asian food, it is not, but Buddha's Belly has a well-designed interior, good vibe, friendly service, and lots of tasty fusion choices that can make almost anybody's belly happy.

We shared sirloin steak and chicken breast shao bing ($7.95) and chicken potstickers ($5.95). I love shao bing. As a kid, I used to eat it stuffed with dried shredded pork for breakfast. These shao bing were a little limp and not as toasty and flaky as the old childhood treats I remember so fondly.


Sable Crow's spinach miso ramen ($9.95).

Diabolina's Thai green curry chicken with jasmine rice ($8.95).

Trisha's pad thai ($10.95).

I enjoyed my ahi tuna burger with sweet potato fries ($11.95) very much.

Better than my entree, however, was our conversation. I admire all three of my dinner companions greatly for their courage, conviction, and warm hearts.

The bulk of our discussion centered around Prop 8, of course, and about how we could do our part to educate people.

Sable Crow told us the horrific story of how his neighbors -- who had known and loved him all his life -- plastered their house and lawn with Yes on 8 signs and held meetings and rallies at their home.

Right in front of the house of the gay boy they'd watched grow up.

It's really his story to tell, but I couldn't hold back from mentioning it here because it was so shocking and disgusting and ugly. It made me livid. How could people do this?

At one point, our whole table was in tears when Diabolina told us about some very difficult conversations she has had with people close to her. Heavy heavy stuff, my friends. Stuff that makes your video-ready mascara a mess.

But Sable Crow brought up an important point for all of us to consider. The margin of the loss was so slim. We can and will overcome this setback. Sable Crow posited that, if everyone who cares about equal rights talks to 20 people who voted yes on 8 and manages to change the mind of just one person out of the 20, the margin will be erased.

I'm willing to talk to 20 people. Heck, I talk to 500 of you every day. Are you willing to talk to 20 people? And, if you voted yes, are you willing to listen?