The Lion's Gate

About a week ago I was taking a ferry from West Seattle to Southworth. It was a beautiful day and I even saw a (rare) sailing catamaran from the ferry, but the most interesting thing was an unusual pattern of airplane condensation trails in the sky, which looked like this:

I realized that if you connected the ends, they would form a hexagon. The other interesting thing was that a family was feeding the seagulls from the starboard bow of the ferry, and they (the gulls) were crying and wheeling about, being the piratical little scavengers that they are. Seagulls have a special place in my heart, because for one they are beautiful in flight, but a long time ago Var and I decided that the ferryboat was the god of seagulls. They would accompany the boat on its passage from one side to the other, flying ahead and flanking it, and it almost seemed like they were heralds or guardians or something. So anyway, I was watching the family, silently disapproving of them feeding the birds sugary cereal snacks, and guess what they were feeding the gulls? Crispy Hexagons.

Note Lion logo in the upper left. Click to enlarge.

All righty then. A few days later, Var and I had to go into Seattle to cash a check at this bank:

Do we see a hexagon theme developing here? The HSBC (Honk Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) logo is also a red and white bow-tie, signifying Orion. The bank is on the 23rd floor of One Union Square (2323 is the address, actually), you have to buzz to even get in the door. Upon entering, you are immediately confronted by a lovely bas-relief of the Crest of the House of Windsor. Lion on the left, Unicorn on the right, complete with Dieu et mon droit. Wouldn't you know it, we parked directly across the street from the Red Lion Hotel. And oh yea, the Lion King is in town, with giant lion banners everywhere, proclaiming "Now is the time!"

Is that a red BOW in your hair?

HSBC Holdings plc is a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales, headquartered in London. As of 2008, it is both the world's largest banking group and the world's largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.

OK, we are in a tentacle of the belly of the Beast, Suite 2323. Trying to cash a check. I'm practically hyperventilating!

Cashing a check takes a good while (since we are not customers), so I sit and look at their view, which faces south and features a fabulous shot of the Art Deco Amazon.com corporate headquarters on Beacon Hill. This building (a former hospital) is literally a pink version of Emerald City, and wouldn't you know it, Seattle calls itself the Emerald City. Oz had a lion (who was about as gay as it gets) and strangely, I played the Cowardly Lion in a high school play.

Synching around to this provocative gem (by Mike Jacobsen) snagged from Conspiracy Grimoire. The Lion realizes he can't get courage from Dorothy because she lacks the organs with which courage is associated. He'll have to grow a pair himself.

Now we go into gay land (somewhere over the rainbow... flag), because my MOST favorite homoerotic writer (PosingStrap) would occasionally describe his characters as... "Amazons", which I thought was really strange. As we all know, Amazons are the fierce female warriors of ancient Turkey, who chose to create a society free from male influence. Wonder Woman is an Amazon, and yes, she sports a RED STAR on her crown.

But Posingstrap is describing men: MALE Amazons? Perhaps male Amazons are men who choose to create a society free from the influence of women? Isn't that a Spartan? And bottom line, isn't that what a gay bar is? At least, some of them. Seattle had a bar called The Cuff which when it opened was an oasis of masculinity. No drag queens, trannys or fag hags. Blue and white collar guys, black and white, all mixed in a testosterone and stale beer laden fog. But one night I was there and I saw that someone had invited their girl friends in, and I was actually kinda pissed, like these women were defiling our little temple! Which, I am quick to point out, is NOT hatred of women, OK? It's just... female energy takes the edge off, and edging is what it's all ABOUT in a gay bar.

The Amazons couldn't reproduce, so one day a year they invited neighboring men in for sex (and men being men, they always accepted the invite). Gay men can't reproduce, which begs the question, why ARE there gay bars at ALL since gayness should have been the first thing on Gaia's list of "undesirable genetic traits"? There are many scientific apologists out there for the "gay gene", but somehow, they ring a bit hollow to me. The unfathomable success of homo-ness leads conspiracy-minded Christians to suppose that there MUST be some secret gay recruitment agenda. Which on a 5 sense, conscious level is laughable. But I have new theory, which is that queerness is part of the "invasion". On some pre-programmed, unconscious, Idsquid, genetic level, homosexuality IS on the agenda, and despite the numerous attempts at wiping us out, the Amazon/Spartans make headway. I think that perhaps... homosexuality IS the Trojan Horse.

The Lionfish Invasion.

Fun Fact: This is the species of fish in Captain Picard's ready room on Star Trek: TNG. Its name is "Livingston". (as in seagull, I presume).