Today’s Ammianoliner (on the voicemail of Sup. Tom Ammiano):
Folsom Street Fair goes green. Beat me, bore me, biodegrade me.
Friday’s Ammianoliner:
George Bush blames gays for global warming. The queenhouse effect.
Personal note to Ammiano: Your Ammianoliners are coming through with more clarity. Keep it up. B3
“Public Financing is like teenage sex.”
So says Chicken John Rinaldi, who has just spent the last month running around like the proverbial headless chicken, as he tries to reconcile reality, which is messy and imperfect, with public financing law, which is rigorous and well-ordered.
Chicken John Rinaldi back in the pre-public financing day when he and his fake moustache had time to chill out at the Temple Bar and educate people, including Fog City’s Luke Thomas, on the correct way to pronounce Ri-NAL-di
“When I was 15 years old, I was very aware of what all those girls had, but there was no chance of my getting it,” said Rinaldi, on learning that his application for public financing in the Mayor’s race has been rejected. For now.
Because, and here’s the tease, the Ethics Commission has given Rinaldi another five days to try and satisfy public financing requirements and then, maybe, just maybe, he can get a piece of it.
“I’m reminded of teenage sex, because I am experiencing the same level of frustration,” said Rinaldi, who has spent the last few weeks knocking on contributors’ doors, trying to get photocopies of their driver’s license, so he can prove that those who each gave up to $100 to his campaign actually live in San Francisco.
And then there are his pesky problems with Paypal, since some efilings took over 48 hours to post, thereby blowing public financing deadlines along the way.
“It’s not the Ethics Commission’s fault, but the way the rules are written,” added Rinaldi, who, much like a horny teenage boy, isn’t about to give up on his quest. “Of course, I’m going to refile!”
Folsom Street Fair gives rise to oh-so-many surreal experiences — nightmares made real, for some, perhaps. Fantasy dreamscapes for others. And yet: Barbra Streisand crowding toward the Eagle piss trough? File under “What the fuck for fabulous.”
So it wasn’t my mary-joe-wanna truffle kicking in after all ….
The Bay Guardian is interviewing community leaders about the issues at stake in the upcoming 2007 elections. We’ll be updating this entry as more information comes in. Post your thoughts or comments below.
Supervisor Jake McGoldrick on Props G, J, and K
“Do we have to submit to advertisers to get things done?”
Jake McGoldrick interview
Visit the Guardian 2007 Election Center for updates, more interviews, and 2007 election news.
By Todd Lavoie
Looks like Patrick Watson’s ridin’ the champagne wave. The California-born Montrealer was just awarded Canada’s esteemed Polaris Music Prize for Best Canadian Album of 2007, beating out stiff competition from nominees Feist, the Arcade Fire, and the Besnard Lakes, among others. (What, no Rush? Avril Lavigne? The indignity of it all!) Sure, the prestige has gotta feel good, and the extra publicity must be nice, but how’s this for a cherry on top: the Polaris is a $20,000 cash prize. Not a bad way to offset some of those pesky touring costs. Watson and his identically named quartet are spending the next couple of months charming audiences across Europe and Canada. (Sadly, no American dates at this point, but fingers crossed. Perhaps all this added exposure will inspire a stateside itinerary as well.)
Enter the familiar refrain: “But who is this Patrick Watson guy?” A fair question, considering thus far he’s flown pretty deep under the radar of the music press. Mention the name, and chances are you’ll either get a shrug and a stare or the foot-stompalicious chorus from “The Magic Position.” (That’s Patrick Wolf, pumpkin.) His sophomore album, Close to Paradise (Secret City), has been given heaps of praise – when it’s been reviewed, that is. Up till now, it’s been a hidden little gem, buried away under the sheer crushing power of so much great music coming out this year.
No wonder, then, that it was such a major upset – especially if you were a betting fool with all your chips firmly placed upon The Neon Bible (Merge) – when the relatively obscure singer-songwriter swooped in from the shadows to collect his 20,000 Loonies. Hell, even the almighty tastemakers at pitchfork.com – ever so proud of their ability to remain several points ahead of the curve – found themselves staring down a mighty slab of humble pie upon finding out that the winner of a big-deal music prize was a guy to whom they’d devoted absolutely no coverage whatsoever. I could take advantage of the situation and snark on Pitchfork, but certainly I’ve heard a thing or two about stones and glass houses. Besides, how about focusing on the upside: there’s just so much wonderful stuff out there that it’s impossible to catch it all.
By Amber Peckham
One of the first waves of protest over the move in Congress to remove transgender people from an anti-discrimination bill came from the labor movement. Members of Pride at Work, an LGBT-focused labor coalition and the newest member of the AFL-CIO, held a press conference Sept 28 to announce they are withdrawing their support from the ENDA bill, and encouraging other LGBT advocacy groups to do the same.
The advocacy is having an impact – already, more than 20 LGBT organizations have come out against the move, and it’s entirely possible that the one-time landmark workplace-discrimination bill will lose almost all of queer community support.
“The need for gender provisions in this bill doesn’t apply only to those who are transgender, but also to, say, effeminate gay men, or lesbians who are ‘too butch’” said Robert Haaland, a representative of Pride at Work. “By picking and choosing who to include in their non-discrimination bill, these legislators are discriminating. It’s self-contradicting.”
“With the transgender community as arguably the most marginalized part of the LGBT community, they are really the ones who need the support of this bill the most,” added Masen Davis, a board member of the Transgender Law Center board. “Over 60% of transgenders in San Francisco are unemployed.”
Davis also expressed gratitude for the support of the labor community.
“If anyone is familiar with the ‘divide and conquer’ tactics being used on the LGBT community right now, it’s the labor movement.” he said. “It really heartens me to hear this voice of support from the labor community, because it means that maybe the bill won’t have to be divided, it can stay one, unified proposition.”
Pride at Work is calling on Pelosi to withdraw her support for the bill if transgender provisions are removed before ENDA is voted on, and is holding a vigil outside her office. If she were to do so, it is likely the bill would not pack the punch required to make it through a Congressional vote, and none of the LGBT community would benefit.
“That’s how the labor movement works; if you injure one, you injure all.” said Haaland. “And it looks like that’s how this bill is going to end up working as well.”
Love that wiggly Rick Astley video that the faux new-Radiohead-album site redirected to last week! You’ve been “Rick Roll”-ed, indeed.
In any case, Radiohead’s HQ/publicists announced today that the label-less group’s new album, In Rainbows, is forthcoming digitally on Oct. 10 (a special double-vinyl/CD “Discbox” of extra songs, special art and photos, etc. is expected to ship on or before Dec. 3 for a mere 40 pounds; the regular, vanilla, humdrum CD is expected next year). And the band swears they had nothing to do with the Astley vid prank.
It all sounds like an experiment in self-releasing – check it out but prepare for lots of slow traffic. And you know if Radiohead and Prince can manage it…
Alas, my camera crapped out over this past weekend’s massive Critical Mass/LoveFest/Folsom Street Fair miasma — but these little critters from LA artist Todd’s David & Goliath line (“We make stupid stuff so you don’t have to”) somehow summed up my entire three-day — and all-night — experience. Pass the Advil, darling.
All bears $10
Candy raver or dominatrix? Both
Last night’s 3rd trick
Thanks for the D&G inbox heds-up from raging actress and singer Mare Costello
Barney Frank
Why are Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank throwing the transgender community under a train? Frank says it’s because America isn’t ready to have an employment-rights bill include trannies: “there is more resistance to protection for people who are transgender than for people who are gay, lesbian and bisexual.”
This leaves mainstream gay organizations with the prospect of either supporting a bill that actively allows discrimination against trans people — or pulling their support for a bill that protects (some) queer people. There’s a press conference this afternoon on the issue; more to come.
Slate has a great piece by Tim Wu, author of “Who Owns the Internet,” that points out why Mayor Newsom’s public-private partnership idea for municipal wifi will never work.
Wu’s point (also bloggednicely in leftinsf)
“The basic idea of offering Internet access as a public service is sound. The problem is that cities haven’t thought of the Internet as a form of public infrastructure that—like subway lines, sewers, or roads—must be paid for. Instead, cities have labored under the illusion that, somehow, everything could be built easily and for free by private parties. That illusion has run straight into the ancient economics of infrastructure and natural monopoly. The bottom line: City dwellers won’t be able to get high-quality wireless Internet access for free. If they want it, collectively, they’ll have to pay for it.”
And yet, Newsom’s crew are out raising money for a ballot measure, Prop. J, that would lock the city in to a “public-private” free-lunch partnership. I’ve just looked at the Ethics Commission filings on it, and in many ways it’s the usual Newsom bunch: Eric Jaye of Storefront Media, Newsom’s chief consultant, is running the campaign. Jim Sutton is doing the legal work. The money’s come from downtown types (the Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe law firm gave $500), Newsom’s father (who gave $1,000) Newsom’s political allies (Assessor Phil TIng gave $250) and labor groups that want to stay on the mayor’s good side or owe him favors (Sign painters, transport workers, and firefighters). What a waste of time and money — unless this whole thing is about providing a back-channel way to give cash to the mayor.
What’s up with this week’s issue of the SF Weekly? A rambling, non-funny and oddly pointless spoof on steroids and Barry Bonds (who’s gone from SF now anyway) and an advertising supplement on restaurants that’s the most blatant, embarrassing sell-out advertorial I’ve seen in any publication anywhere. Ick.
Really? The Gayest? You be the judge – and there plenty more where these came from, believe me …. Below are some tunes mentioned in, or chosen by people mentioned in, our cover story this week. Rock on!
Dee Jay Pee Play of Honey Soundsystem
D.A.F., “Brothers”
Kevin Aviance, “Din Da Da”
By Amber Peckham
As summer bids a fond farewell to the city, getting the most out of the few beautiful days that are left is a must. If you’re looking for an activity suitable for groups of all sizes, take a jaunt over to the 8th Annual World Veg Festival at the county fair building in Golden Gate Park. The festival spans the whole weekend, and is free from 10-10:30, after which the suggested donation is $5.
The San Francisco Vegetarian Society puts the event together, and has over its eight year lifespan attracted other sponsors that also take part in the festivities. For example, this year’s co-sponsor is the group In Defense of Animals, adding pet adoption to the weekend’s other activities, speakers, and performances.
Margaret Cho rocked the mic – and her burleque bone – at Estrojam in Chicago.
By K. Tighe
An estimated 15,000 attendees flocked to venues around Chicago last week, Sept. 18-23, for the fifth annual Estrojam Music and Culture Festival to see women doing what they do best. E-Jam is no touchy-feely Lilith affair: the events ran the gamut from burlesque to boozing, hip-hop to rock, photography to film.
Margaret Cho lit up the festival with a raucous array of ta-tas, tattoos, and tassels. Many eyebrows were raised when the San Francisco-born comedienne took up belly dancing a few years ago, but this week’s stint at the Lakeshore Theatre proved that Cho has taken the cabaret world firmly by the fans and put together a stellar revue. Featuring seasoned pros like New York’s Dirty Martini and LA’s Princess Farhana, up-and-coming transgender comic Ian Harvie, and members of West Hollywood’s Gay Mafia Comedy Troupe, The Sensuous Woman is an edgier take on a burlesque variety show.
The opening fan dance was not your standard pink and frilly affair, but an irreverent pulsing precursor to the sexual themes of the show set to Peaches’ “Boys Wanna be Her.” Here’s the thing – everyone in the cast was flapping a fan, not just the pretty girls – it was clear that Cho intended to blur some lines. As she emerged from the feathered curtains, the audience went ape and Cho began a well-received stand-up routine with “I’m Margaret, Bitch.” Keeping on the current event tip, the comic called out the critics of Britney’s VMA performance, ascribing the commentary on the pop star’s weight to “a symptom of a diseased mind.” Going on to vividly and hysterically describe that fateful day in an airport bathroom for Sen. Larry Craig, Cho introduced her show as “Like Donny and Marie – but with an all-tranny chorus line.”
Brooooce. Photo by Mark Seliger.
By Todd Lavoie
They’re back! Well, almost. This coming Tuesday, Oct. 2, to keep things official and all. That’s when the Magic happens.
Proving that patience really does pay off from time to time, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are about to reward us rather handsomely for riding out their extended hiatus. Their latest Columbia Records thunderer Magic hits the racks, and if the glowing adjectives tossed around by the press are any indication, the phrase “return to form” is written all over it. Sure, I could’ve already checked for myself, maybe even previewed a couple of songs – thanks to this handy-dandy Internet thing all the kids are raving about – but I really do relish the freshness of a CD when it’s been shucked from its shrink-wrap within hours of its release into the world. There’s nothing quite like it, is there? In an age where everything seems to be so readily available and spoilers are just a click away, I’d rather keep it old-school, thank you all the same. And so I’ll wait till Tuesday to find out for myself. Besides: why would I want to get rid of the one single interesting feature Tuesdays have to offer?
“But it’s Bruce Springsteen – big deal!” Yes, I can already hear them, snipping and quipping away up there on the horizon, a veritable sea of ironic haircuts and tight-legged trousers poo-pooing away my excitement over what promises to be a highlight of this already-impressive fall music season. Maybe it’s because the Boss reminds the Vice Generation too much of Dad or Uncle Joe?
Furthermore, I doubt Springsteen possesses a single ironic bone in his body; there’s no cheeky winks or clever-for-clever’s sake at play here. He’s far too straight-up for that, thankfully, but such directness might come across as so unfashionably retro in or post-everything culture. It’s probably only a partial explanation, and I could even counter my own argument by pointing out the wonderfully refreshing arrival of what I’ve taken to calling the current sincerity movement in indie rock: witness the impact of emotionally-direct, irony-free acts such as Antony and the Johnsons, Joan as Policewoman, and perhaps even Broken Social Scene.
File under: “I don’t really care:”
Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its nominees this week. Of the nine nominees, five actually get inducted into that great hallowed institution, and get to take part in one of the more self-congratulatory ceremonies that makes its way to VH-1.
And they are:
Madonna
Donna Summer
John Mellencamp
Leonard Cohen
The Dave Clark Five
The Ventures
Chic
Afrika Bambaataa
The Beastie Boys
Madonna is maybe the most surprising — or least? — name. Hell, I remember being ten years old and hearing “Holiday” for the first time. She may have lost me a little bit with the Kabbalah and the British accent and the Britney Spears duet and whatnot in recent years — and her music is not, per se, “rock,” — but you gotta admit, the lady’s pretty undeniable.
Big ups, Madge!
Ah yes, it’s LoveFest this weekend! There’ll be lots of groovy floats and bunny-eared revellers passing out from lack of H2O — hopefully shirtless. Love! But while the Fest is busy fliying in some mighty Big Names, local techno collectives like Kontrol and Filter are pulling out the stops to make sure SF represents. Here’s a little lowdown of some of the juicier boom-boom haps happening in the next week or so that feature some local meisters in the lineup. Go, kids, go! (PS — I nicked a lot of this info from the inimitable Greg Bird of Kontrol, who rock and sock my world. Make sure to check out their Oct 6 party at the EndUp with my ol’ homey Dan Bell from CANADETROIT)
After the jump: more more more!
From the morning: Nick Drake as a teen.
One of the sweetest panels at the this year’s South By Southwest revolved around the late singer-songwriter Nick Drake: producer Joe Boyd, onetime-possible collaborator Vashti Bunyan, and sister Gabrielle Drake traded anecdotes about the talented mystery man, played music, and took questions to a transfixed crowd. Luckily you’ll get a chance to have a similar experience on Tuesday, Oct. 2, when Gabrielle Drake, Boyd, and singer-songwriter Jolie Holland give a similar talk as part of Noise Pop’s collabo with City Arts and Lectures. I spoke to Drake recently from her home in Shropshire, England.
Bay Guardian: The Nick Drake panel you were on at SXSW was one of my favorite things at the conference this year.
Gabrielle Drake: Thank you. This is a new world to me, because really acting is my world. The music world is new to me. But I do what I’m told! [Laughs]
I was asked to come out to San Francisco and to LA, and I’m glad to do that if it helps Nick and his music. I won’t do it very much because I find in a funny way, the more you go on talking about someone you knew and loved, the more removed from you they become.
BG: Are there a lot of misconceptions out there about him that you feel like you should clear up?
GD: I think there can be. And in the end his music speaks for itself, you know, and that’s great. The only questions I can answer really are questions about the childhood we shared together. Other people can answer questions about his music. But I don’t think there are any easy solutions to what made Nick the musician he was. I think the enigma continues really. No one can really come up with easy solutions, and I’m only there to clarify a part of the picture. That is perhaps an important part that needs to be clarified, so that we can go on from there.
Gabrielle Drake.
BG: What was your childhood like?
The Bay Guardian is interviewing community leaders about the issues at stake in the upcoming 2007 elections. We’ll be updating this entry as more information comes in. Post your thoughts or comments below.
Friends of the San Francisco Public Library on Prop D and other election issues
Friends of the Public Library interview
courtesy of www.letsgreenwashthiscity.org
I’ve mentioned here and elsewhere the PG&E “Let’s green this city” broadsides that have been dousing San Francisco’s public spaces with a sickly lime green unfit for a Gap t-shirt. We’ve also provided proof of how bogus they are, which today’s Chronicle business page finally noticed.
To further substantiate that PG&E’s commitment is more greenwashing than green, check out their opposition to Senate Bill 411, which would have advanced the Renewable Portfolio Standard for investor-owned utilities in California from 20 percent to 33 percent by 2020.
Southern California Edison supports the bill. So why not PG&E, which says it’s seeking to become the “greenest utility in America?”
“Then why do they have all these advertisings?” Jim Metropulos, the Sierra Club’s legislative representative in Sacramento, asked us, citing their front page ads in the Chronicle. This Sunday, strolling around my Mission neighborhood, I also noticed them on the front page of El Mensajero, which must be part of PG&E’s new Latin flair.
Why don’t they put all that advertising money toward purchasing green power instead?
The Bay Guardian is interviewing community leaders about the issues at stake in the upcoming 2007 elections. We’ll be updating this entry as more information comes in. Post your thoughts or comments below.
San Francisco Police Department Representative John Scully on Prop F
John Scully interview
Visit the Guardian 2007 Election Center for updates, more interviews, and 2007 election news.
The Bay Guardian is interviewing community leaders about the issues at stake in the upcoming 2007 elections. We’ll be updating this entry as more information comes in. Post your thoughts or comments below.
Supervisor Chris Daly on Prop E and other election issues
“Proposition E is the one item on the ballot that provides some checks and balances”
Chris Daly interview
Visit the Guardian 2007 Election Center for updates, more interviews, and 2007 election news.
The Bay Guardian is interviewing community leaders about the issues at stake in the upcoming 2007 elections. We’ll be updating this entry as more information comes in. Post your thoughts or comments below.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin on Prop A and other election issues
Aaron Peskin interview
Visit the Guardian 2007 Election Center for updates, more interviews, and 2007 election news.
I once tried to make a bikini out of Fruit Loops – a disastrous project that resulted in melted clear plastic, hundreds of broken colored “o”s, and several hot-glue burns. So when I hear about designers making “edible fashions,” I’m duly impressed and skeptical. But what the designer/chef teams managed to pull off for last night’s Toast of the Town event was nothing less than awesome (in the literal, not California slang, meaning of the word).
I’m not exactly sure how they managed it, but nearly every team concocted an outfit that was not only inventive in its use of materials, but was actually attractive too – as in, if it wouldn’t wilt and smell in four hours, people might consider wearing it in real life (Of course, I didn’t manage to get photos of most of them). My favorite was a piece co-created by Ashley Miller of Tres Agaves: a classy, sassy strapless number made from tequila labels and the curled peels of 250 limes. Of course, there were also the outliers: Sean O’Brien from Myth concocted a halter top with octopus tentacles as fringe (ew!), and the “anarchy confectionary” wedding dresses decorated with candy co-created by Elizabeth Faulkner of Citizen Cake were fun, but too obviously, well, decorated with candy.
Some designers go for “pretty” or “interesting.” But chef Sean O’Brien was going more for shock value than anything else with this octopus number. Of skinning the octopus to make the bodice, he said, “think about Silence of the Lambs.” Um, OK.
All in all, though, the fashion show far exceeded my expectations, in both form and function. It’s a good thing none of the dresses were for sale, as I might’ve had to buy ‘em all (with my imaginary trust fund, of course), and then a dress-sized icebox to go next to my armoire. I guess it’s back to ill-advised home projects for me.
Olympic medallist Allison Wagner modeled a (what else?) aquatic-themed bikini co-created by event host Marisa Churchill (of Top Chef fame), featuring sugar “sand,” gum paste “turquoise beads,” and fish bone accents.
More photos, including those of food, celebrity attendees, and the dancing bow-tie guy, in this San Francisco Sentinel post.
Note: If you know which of the guest designers – Amy Kuschel, Jessica Summers, Joui Turandot, Stephanie Verrieres, and Kimie Sako – collaborated on which fashions, please let us know in the comments. We’d also love a photo of the Tres Agaves dress. I was too busy imagining myself in it to snap a picture of it. You can email a jpeg to molly@sfbg.com.
