Photo credit: Carin Baer/FOX

Yes, I have made it official. I am trying to start a Glee club in San Francisco for a three-part story I am working on for The Bold Italic – and I have put up an ad on Craigslist:

Looking to start a SF-based Glee club (San Francisco)

I am a writer for a San Francisco-based online publication, “The Bold Italic” (www.thebolditalic.com) a site that “helps people become better locals, equipping our members with rare local intel, backstory and potential adventures.” It’s a very interesting method of investigative journalism in which the writer “embeds” him/herself in a story and writes from an experiential point of view.

That said, I am writing a story inspired by the show, “Glee”. I am going through a process of actually starting (and being a part of) a stand-alone show choir in the city that is contemporary, hip and have an irreverent, but heartfelt aesthetic – much like the show – but in real life.

I am writing this in a three-part series and as of now, it is in its research phase. From there, we will go on to auditions, planning a show and then a final performance. After that, it has the potential to be a permanent thing.

Yes, it’s very ambitious and it’s volunteer, but it will be an interesting experience. Considering the San Francisco community embraces the arts and are willing to take risks, it’s the perfect city for this sort of venture.

We are looking for:

1.) An experienced musical director.
2.) A talented choreographer.
3.) A stylist.
4.) Members who have experience in show-choir or musical theater.

Please email the above address with a cover letter, headshot (if you have one) and resume. I’m looking forward to your responses!

I am looking forward to some creepy and neurotic responses.

One reader decided to call them out on this:

DAMN! Way harsh! I know how it is to have readers call you out on things. It’s not like a writer PURPOSELY makes a mistake so that the reader can feel smart. We’ve all fell victim to typos every now and then – but this anonymous fella (or gal) does have a point – Nylon is a prominent publication and they should have the means to edit the copy flawlessly. I, on the other hand, am a one-man show so I guess that’s my excuse.

But DAMN! Is Nylon just gonna let this anonymous fool just talk shit? They need to throw down – and that’s another thing about talking shit on the Internet – a lot of people don’t take responsibility for their words. Instead, they use lame monikers or simply put “Anonymous.” If you’re gonna trash talk, I would suggest you have the balls to pin your name to it. Otherwise, you’re just a coward hiding behind your computer.

And for the record, that picture they used is not posed at all. It is TOTALLY candid.

It’s just another gig to add to my grocery list of gigs! How exciting is that?

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I was uber-nervous that the students were going to hate me and walk all over me, but they were really cool – and I’m just not saying this because they will probably be reading this blog (Hi Students!)

Now that the first class is done (actually, it’s the second class – it’s a long story), I think I may be comfortable enough to make the class into my own little reality show. Each week a student will be eliminated and one will be AAU’s Next Top Fashion Journalist.

And even though BART was hellaciously crowded on the way home, I was recognized by someone in the station. Some girl randomly came up to me and asked, “Are you Dino-Ray Ramos?” and I said, “Yes.” And she said, “I read both your blogs!”

She was so sweet and I felt so popular! I am so glad that readers out there actually like me!

And to top off the day, GOSSIP GIRL is on! Oh happy day! Let us rejoice and be glad!

With BART acting so slow and annoying lately (and considering I am at the end of the line in Dublin/P-ton suburbia) I am really wanting to get the hell out of here and move into the city – so if any of you know of a person who is renting out a place in SF let me know. I’ve had it with suburbia – and I think it’s making me a little bit more cynical than usual.

So yeah – tomorrow I am attending a teaching conference because I am going to be a teacher of fashion journalism! Yes you heard that right! Dino-Ray – a teacher! The thing is, I got my roster today and it only had THREE students! I hope that is a preliminary list because that, for some reason, is a little bit more nerve racking than having a full class of 15 students. For one, it’s more intimate and there’s the danger of my one-on-one anxiety coming out. Secondly, I am scared that AAU is gonna say, “Oh well, you only have three students – we are going to CUT your class!” I hope that’s not the case – I’m pretty sure it won’t be. Plus, the program is just starting to grow so the small number of enrollees is understandable.

Maybe it won’t be that bad….I’m going to be the best gosh darn teacher to this kids as possible. I will be their inspiration. Like that guy on “Stand and Deliver” or Michelle Pfeiffer on “Dangerous Minds” or Mr. Racine on that one episode of “My So Called Life.”

The San Francisco Chronicle will offer at least 125 employees the chance to take a buyout before the end of the year, the company said Friday.

“Obviously, we’re not the first newspaper to be affected by the continuing downturn in advertising,” said Publisher, President and CEO Frank Vega. “We are hopeful that by opting for our employees to voluntarily sign up for buyouts we can avoid any type of layoffs going forward.”

The program is open to all employees who are not represented by a union as well as employees who are represented by the Northern California Media Workers’ Guild.

The company said it would consider accepting more than 125 employees and that it has the right to reject as well as accept applicants. If the reduction goal is not met, the company said, layoffs will be likely.

I thought the SF Chronicle was doing well for themselves. They seem so glamorous and hardcore. But I guess I was wrong! Welcome to the club folks!

I landed a gig on Examiner.com (in case you didn’t catch that link in the SJP post).

I am officially the S.F. Fashion Examiner! Check it out by clicking here!

And make sure you visit often! Doesn’t that picture make me look REALLY vain?

Now that time has passed, I think I can talk about it openly. I am at peace with it.

I remember what I was wearing that day: a pair of black Uniqlo slim fit jeans, a dark blue and brown plaid button up from H&M, black skinny tie and my handsome Franceschetti Chelsea boots.

My editor called me from across the room and said, “Can you meet me out in the lobby?” Right then, I immediately knew I was getting the ax. I met her in the lobby and she was on the verge of tears, which, in turn, made my eyes mist over – until she started explaining what the next steps were.

As she was giving me the logistics of the ordeal, I SWEAR she glanced at my crotch. I mean, I am 75 percent sure she glanced down there.

Surprisingly, it put me at ease.

The Film Club By David Gilmour: See what happens when a father lets his son drop out of high school on the condition that he watches three movies a week (of the dad’s choosing)! I’m almost done with this book – it’s okay. There are parts when the Gilmour is talking so matter-of-factly. The coming-of-age story of his son is inconsistently keeping me interested. If anything, I am learning a lot about film…and I mean A LOT!

I recently watched…

I saw a pre-screening on Monday and I am not supposed to post any type of review of the movie at the request of the people who invited me to the screening. As an industry professional, I will adhere to that request – but I will say that this movie was the first time I actually genuinely missed the acting skills and screen presence of Heath Ledger. I will also say that there was a really lame Harry Potter teaser trailer and a TOTALLY RAD Watchmen trailer beforehand! Ugh. Did I just say “TOTALLY RAD?”

Before anything else, I will just say that as soon as I stepped out of the theater, I rushed to the Virgin Megastore and bought the soundtrack of this ’90s hip-hop soundtrack. It has Notorious B.I.G., Tribe Called Quest, Raekwon, KRS-One, Wu-tang Clan – it has to be the DOPEST soundtrack this summer! Yes, I said DOPE. As for the movie – I enjoyed thoroughly. It has Josh Peck as a pot dealer in NYC trying to “find himself” and along the way he creates some unlikely relationships. He’s very – shall we say – “urban.” Yes, he is a white boy acting black, but he delivers it in a way that is not annoying. It’s so natural. It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this where I didn’t think the actor wasn’t trying too hard. He had this puppy dog on pot charm that translated so well. And I just adored Olivia Thirlby in “Juno” and I adore her even more after this – she’s got spunk and sass. And how can you not like a movie where Ben Kingsley, as Peck’s psychiatrist and BFF, is taking a hit from a bong. Brilliant.

I aw a screening of this last night and the one thing that stood out to me in this movie besides the glittery happy-go-lucky ABBA songs was Amanda Seyfried. She stole it for me. She gets my stamp of approval. As for the actual movie, it wasn’t the best movie-musical I have seen as of late – but it was a bowlful of fun. At the beginning, Meryl Streep was overenthusiastic, her performance was almost self-indulgent, like she was performing for herself and no one else. But then when things started to get a bit rocky for her character, I started to pay more attention. I think I like Streep when she isn’t so bubbly and sweet, but when she is faced with turmoil and conflict. And for some reason, my brow became quizzical every time Pierce Bronsan had to sing a song. It was like watching a priest krump. Ultimately, you cannot NOT like this movie because of the ABBA music – but “Muriel’s Wedding” is still my favorite ABBA-based movie.

What have I been writing…

Besides some pieces for 944, cover letters and a bunch of emails, I haven’t done anything literary – and I should be. I’ll keep you posted.

This month’s James McAvoy-clad issue of Details is a good one. There’s an article on guys who get vasectomies in their 20’s. Excellent read. There’s also a fun article on Joel McHale. But there’s one thing missing – my name in the contributors section.

I’ve pitched the magazine plenty of times and I was lucky enough to get a response from them in a reasonable amount of time. Sure, the response was often curt, but there was an air of politeness in it.

Honestly, I think my pitches have been a bit desperate. I get all stressed out when I try to come up with some ideas and then I end up pitching something really lame and I think the editors feel so sorry for me that they feel inclined to respond to me.

I need to focus better now that I am freelancing – my goal is to break into that magazine – not because I want to be famous or anything (okay, maybe a little bit, but I doubt Details will make me a superstar). I just want to see my byline in this magazine. I respect this magazine. It caters to my demographic. I like the writing. It fits my style. The voice of the magazine is something that I feel I could contribute to. The content of the mag intrigues me and I, in turn have a mind that has the potential to intrigue people. Plus, I was looking at the contributor’s page – the one with all the pics of the people who wrote for this issue – and there wasn’t a Filipino boy. They need one. And that one is me.

Now the next step is to brainstorm something that intrigues the editors. I just need to stop spazzing and think of things that I would like to see in this mag – besides my byline.