SFBG Blogs Archives — Page 534 of 597 — San Francisco Bay Guardian Archive 1966

San Francisco cops to be highest paid in the nation by 2010?

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August 13, 2007

By G.W. Schulz

We usually call this segment “What’s the city’s cop union pissed about now?” But the SFPD doesn’t appear to have a lot to be pissed about these days, if Gary Delagnes is right in promising that San Francisco police officers will be the highest paid in the nation by the year 2010.

Delagnes (pictured right) is president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, of course, and we like to keep track of what he’s complaining about by reading through the often-disturbing POA Journal, a wonderful place to learn what’s on the minds of the SFPD’s rank-and-file.

In the August issue, Delagnes doesn’t get around to attacking Gen-Xers or deriding “community nut jobs.” He’s too busy promising the fattest paychecks in all the land by the time the union’s current contract expires, for which City Hall recently completed negotiations.

Here’s the money shot from Delagnes:

“It was a team effort and our mission was accomplished. We will now finally approach our mission of 17 years ago when we vowed to be the highest paid major police department in the country. When that last raise kicks in on July 1, 2010, I believe we will have reached that goal.”

There are a lot of things a police department can aspire to, we guess. But nothing could be as important as beating out the other bastards in pay. Delagnes precedes all of this with a stretch of a metaphor. When he played baseball as a young man, he hated to bunt, because, as he writes, he’d much rather clear the fences.

“One time I just ignored the coach’s obvious bunt signal. Okay, maybe it was more than just once … But the one time I do remember ‘missing’ the signal just about cost us the game. My coach at the time made sure I spent the next couple of games on the bench so that I would remember I was playing a ‘team’ game.”

We’re pretty sure Delagnes was trying to say that he couldn’t have whipped the city into contractual submission without the rest of his negotiating committee, whom he goes on to thank individually. You know, teamwork. We think. He commits several column inches to this metaphor, and we’re still not quite clear on it.

UCSF gives city planning the royal salute

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August 13, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

UCSF, which is developing a huge new campus at Mission Bay, wants to put a new research facility a few blocks away on Third Street. The Pritzker Center would focus on mental health for kids, and I’m all in favor of that. Of course, it involves turning a vacant warehouse into essentially office and clinical space, which may violate the city’s attempts to preserve blue-collar jobs in the southeast neighborhoods, but we may never hear any discussion of that issue, or of any other planning-related issues, and here’s why:

In a remarkable Fuck You to the entire city of San Francisco planning process, UCSF has essentially declared that it doesn’t have to abide by any city planning procedures at the site.

This isn’t even part of the Mission Bay campus, which is already zoned for UC’s use. In fact, UC doesn’t actually own the building. So by any normal standard, UCSF would have to apply to the city planning department for environmental review.

No such luck: The school has done its own review, determined on its own that there are no environmental issues, and told the city planners to kiss off.

Maybe the Pritzker Center is a fine use of that space, but it’s a scary precedent that could set the stage for UC expanding far beyond Mission Bay, taking other property and turning it to campus use — without any meaninful community input.

Sue Hestor is fighting the move; you can see her letter as a PDF here.

Shoot first, cadets. Foot pursuits smack of effort.

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August 13, 2007

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By G.W. Schulz

*UPDATE: SGT. NEVILLE GITTENS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO POLICE DEPARTMENT’S PRESS OFFICE WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT HE WAS OUT OF TOWN WHEN WE LEFT A MESSAGE FOR HIM INQUIRING ABOUT THIS REPORT. INDEED, THE SFPD’S PRESS OFFICE NEVER RETURNED OUR CALL, BUT GITTENS SAYS FOR THE RECORD THAT HE WASN’T AT WORK THAT DAY, AND IT WASN’T PERSONALLY HIS FAULT THAT WE DIDN’T HEAR BACK FROM THE DEPARTMENT. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION, SERGEANT.

We were going to save this item for the briefs section on Wednesday, but another piece came up at the last minute, so here you go.

Last week, flaks from the San Francisco Police Department sent out a press release proudly announcing that 40 men and women would be officially graduating from the police academy August 10.

But the department’s badly needed infusion of rookie officers comes with a caveat. Someone recently called the whistleblower hotline at the San Francisco Controller’s Office to complain that an officer “had failed the agility test, but was able to advance to the oral board portion of the exam,” according to a regular summary of the tips posted on the city’s Web site.

The whistleblower reports don’t name names but do outline allegations of fraud, waste and employee misconduct in addition to explaining how investigators responded.

Officer Maria Oropeza from the academy wouldn’t answer questions about the complaint and directed us to Sgt. Neville Gittens in the department’s press office, who didn’t return calls by this afternoon.

But an inquiry from the controller responding to the complaint revealed that previously, applicants who failed the physical ability test weren’t allowed to participate in the oral interview. The exam period that inspired the complaint, however, was amended to allow candidates who passed the written examination to join an eligible list and improve their physical fitness in the interim before retaking that portion of the test within two years.

Investigators didn’t conclude that any rules were violated, but there’s no doubt San Francisco is desperate for new officers.

Newsom con Pollo

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August 13, 2007

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By Steven T. Jones
You’ve got to check out this video of Chicken John becoming an official candidate for mayor, which includes Chicken and his entourage crashing Room 200 and having a funny hallway chat with its current incumbent.
Chicken probably can’t win — and he says that he doesn’t even want to, aiming for third place (“Showman to Show”) — but he’ll certainly keep this race entertaining.

Strange powers: Notes on Stalker

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August 13, 2007

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By Maria Komodore

There aren’t many things that haven’t been written about Andrey Tarkovsky’s Stalker. Of course the film’s mysterious subject and Tarkovsky’s even more mysterious direction do open the film up to all kinds of discussions. The story, if one can say that there is such a thing, revolves around an enigmatic Zone whose creation conditions never become quite clear. The suggestion is that it was the product of a meteorite fall—but that doesn’t really matter anyhow. Within the obscure Zone there is the equally abstruse Room which is supposed to be capable of granting men’s innermost wishes. Writer and Scientist are the film’s two protagonists, who want to access the Zone and get to the Room, although doing so is prohibited to everyone. And this is where the Stalker, the film’s third main character, comes in. Writer and Scientist use him to reach the Room. The Stalker has managed to find his way in the forbidden area and navigate it safely.

Manhattanization, from LA to SF

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August 13, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

Joel Kotkin, the widely known urban writer and thinker, has a fascinating piece in the Sunday L.A. Times called “Why the Rush to Manhattanize L.A.?” I don’t entirely agree with his argument for L.A.; he writes about New York-style density and says:

It’s not so clear, however, that L.A., which has been expanding outward for more than 100 years and is famously sun drenched, car crazy, blessed with natural beauty and earthquake prone, should follow a similar course.

I think it’s clear that L.A. can’t continue to expand outward, and that it’s far too car crazy, and that future growth should be driven by transit, not freeways.

But his larger point is that we are so enamored these days of “new urbanism” and a rush to build tall buildings that we aren’t thinking about the long-term impacts:

Ultimately, it comes down to whether Los Angeles will have a serious debate about where it is headed. Jumping blindly on the Manhattan express, without considering the implications for the city and its many great neighborhoods, is not a promising first step.

In San Francisco, we’ve had this debate for years — but right now, as the Chronicle is arguing only about which of a group of oversized highrises is the best, we aren’t thinking clearly about why we’re making these decisions.

Naked Ambition and the Mayor’s Race

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August 11, 2007

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By Sarah Phelan

Photo by Sarah Phelan

George “Naked Yoga Guy” Davis started to strip off in City Hall, yesterday, shortly after filing his mayoral papers.

Homeless taxi driver and mayoral candidate Grasshopper Alec Kaplan has already removed the numbers from beleagured “D4” supervisor Ed Jew’s alleged house in the Sunset District.

Fellow mayoral challenger and fierce blogger H. Brown has been shooting his mouth off about politics for years.

And then of course there is artist Chicken John Rinaldi, who pronounces his name Ri-NAL-di.

But supporters of Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai are accusing the Chronicle of being in Newsom’s back pocket after the daily managed to omit all mention of Sumcahi from its August 11 coverage of the race.

Ahimsa outside City Hall on August 10, shortly before filing her mayoral papers.

True, Dr. Sumchai was 20 minutes late for her own August 10 press conference–a tardiness she put down to having to travel by public transit.

But Sumchai’s name is clearly on the list of mayoral candidates, and she has been talking about her candidacy since January, when Lennar’s failure to properly monitor and control asbestos dust at Hunters Point Shipyard inspired her to enter the race.

100_2047.jpg-wolfbest.jpg

Josh Wolf, who is also running for mayor, says his decision wasn’t about payback. (Readers may recall that Newsom refused to add his signature to a Board resolution that publicly protested federal interference into an investigation into who assaulted an SFBD officer during a G8 protest turned violent –interference that enabled authorities to circumvent state-approved shield laws and thus keep Wolf in jail for 7 months for refusing to give up his video outtakes of the protest.
“But I’m shocked that Newsom refused to accept a cap on his relection campaign contributions , which have already surpassed $1.6 million,” said Wolf. “What’s he afraid of?”

Free at last, Wolf files for Mayor of San Francisco

Meanwhile, with rumor having it that Newsom wanted to use Eminem’s Lose Yourself as his 2003 election jingle, what would be an appropriate theme song for Newsom’s 2007 reelection bid,?

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, the Naked Yoga Guy…

…didn’t take it ALL off. At least not this time around.

Whither Jascha Ephraim?

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August 11, 2007

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By Robert Bergin

Dear Jascha Ephraim,

Stumbled across your CD a couple days ago. I was going through my collection, looking for stuff to sell to Amoeba because I’m broke and I needed a copy of Pootie Tang. If you haven’t seen Pootie Tang, you should. It’s right up your alley. But yeah, I came up with three or four CDs I didn’t want anymore and some promos, which I figured would be enough. Who needs Softies full-lengths when you’ve got the 7-inches, right? Anyways, no fucking way did I sell your self-titled. True, I haven’t spent time with it in a while, but that doesn’t change the fact that my roommate and I listened to you almost daily during the spring of 2006. You don’t part with that.

So what happened man? Where’d you go? Your Web site is bare. Your MySpace
has a wall post that hints that you might have left SF for Kentucky – WTF? – but other than that, nada. The world needs more of your tunes. “Goldfish Euthanasia” was for my little brother what that Offspring song about road-rage was for me. We need your sharp-witted synth-pop vulgarities. Or maybe just a status update? Hope alls well.

XOXOXO,
Robert

Fun with whistleblowers! Who’s callin’ out misbehavin’ bureaucrats?

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August 10, 2007

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By G.W. Schulz

That’s right friends! It’s time again for another trip to the section of the local controller’s Web site containing summaries of the whistleblower complaints received by the city over the last several months. The city closed 153 complaints with investigations out of 313 contacts during the ’06 fiscal year.

Who’s stashing beer in a city-owned vehicle? Who’s doin’ dope on the job?

When I first began reporting full time at the Guardian last year, former staff writer A.C. Thompson showed me where to find the controller’s biannual reports listing some of the investigations that office regularly conducted in response to calls from whistleblowers.

Hungry reporters have scandalous love affairs with pretty much anything coming out of their local controller’s office. It’s a great place to find story ideas, from how much city managers are getting paid to who’s receiving giant contracts to plant trees in city parks and build train stations.

At the time, A.C. and I tried to sunshine documents directly related to the whistleblower investigations, but after haggling with the controller’s office a bit, they finally told us that such a release could potentially compromise the otherwise anonymous identities of the callers. That’s pretty reasonable, actually, and you can still go straight to the agency from which the allegations originated and sunshine info that way. (Let us know if you find anything, and as always, don’t hesitate to bring your whistle straight to the Guardian’s headquarters at 135 Mississippi St. and blow it loud and proud!)

For now, we’ll bring you a summary of the complaints from the city’s newest report:

The LOGO LGBTQISTTQFFORUM

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August 10, 2007

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So, last night the Human Right Campaign and homo cable channel-bot LOGO hosted a forum for the Democratic presidential candidates in an Oprah-like setting for a candid grilling about “GLBT issues” — luckily, for those of us who can’t shell out the skittle for subscription cable, it was available live online, in a format that actually worked! Way to go, LOGO server bandwidth! (full disclosure: I was a commentator on the forum for CBS Radio. I’m so mainstream!)

You can view some capture vids and a recap of the debate here.

Kucinich — “magical love,” as always

YES, as a big gay, I did of course get that warm, fuzzy, Pride-trained feeling I’m supposed to get when the folks in the big house descend to talk to l’il ol’ me about what they think are my l’il ol’ issues. Plus, the intimate “forum” setting (each candidate got 15 minutes in the hot seat while the others waited in back) was ideal for disallowing the candidates to dodge and highlighting their every squirm.

Still, I was prepared to scream “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TRANNIES!” into the ears of America as a commentator …. and the fact that Melissa Etheridge was one of the interlocutors rolled my eyes backward a bit (altho to her credit her questions were actually pretty potent — once you got past all the fawning — and she acknowledged she had no business being there as “neither a professional politician or activist.” Tell it to your global-warming Oscar, sweetie.)

Daly will not run for mayor

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August 9, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

Sup. Chris Daly, who was talking over the past few days about a campaign for mayor, has decided against it. He sent a statement tonight; I’ll post the whole thing:

Progressive Allies and Friends,

For the past 6.5 years, we have enjoyed strong
progressive politics in San Francisco. Progressive
San Francisco has delivered a new era of worker’s
rights with the nation’s highest minimum wage,
universal health coverage, and paid sick days.
Requiring significant amounts of affordable housing
and other public benefits, we’ve made development work
for communities. We’ve set the agenda on workers’
rights, housing, health care, city services,
transportation, and the environment. Our political
opponents, even holding the office of Mayor, have been
on the defensive.

Despite our political strength and its marquis
standing in local political races, it’s clear that
we’ve had difficulty engaging in this year’s Mayor’s
race. Progressives share a principled critique of the
personality-driven politics practiced by our
opponents. We elevate the issues important to
everyday people above our own political advancement
and personal self-interest. We are right to do so.
Unfortunately, this does not always translate well
into the mainstream and corporate-controlled media.

For the better part of a year, I felt a great deal of
responsibility to find a strong progressive candidate
for Mayor, all the while acknowledging that I was not
our best possible candidate. There were discussions,
caucuses, lunches, and even a Progressive Convention
aimed at compelling a progressive entry into the race.
With news last week of the final potential candidate
forgoing the race, I decided to take another look at
making a run.

This past week Progressive San Francisco produced a
flurry of activity about that possibility. I was
heartened and inspired that so many were willing to
step up in the face of significant odds. Dozens of
you dropped what you were doing to spend hours on end
with me this week. Hundreds pledged your support.
The outpouring gave me hope that we do have what it
takes to take back Room 200 and deliver social and
economic justice to San Francisco.

However, I have decided not to file a candidacy for
the Office of Mayor.

Given the negative, million-dollar campaign against me
last year, there was never a question that this
Mayor’s race would be brutal. The incumbent promised
as much in a meeting this week. Our ideas are better,
and I was committed to running a campaign about our
issues. But most of us had reservations about whether
we’d ever be able to achieve resonance on the issues
against the tide of hits, personal attacks, and media
hype of the Newsom vs. Daly personality clash.

Sarah and I arrived at last night’s meeting with the
intention of announcing my entry into the race and
were moved by everyone’s willingness to act on faith.
When I called on progressives for support for a
Mayoral run, progressives responded. But I also
sensed that the reservations in the room were real.
Progressives are certainly ready to vie for the
Mayor’s seat, but, unfortunately, I am not the right
candidate.

There is some good news. Progressives are much
stronger than we were the last time we didn’t field a
challenger for Mayor. Back in ’83, the progressive
movement had not recovered from the Milk/Moscone
assassinations and the subsequent repeal of district
elections. Dianne Feinstein enjoyed great popularity
after soundly squashing a recall effort. She went on
to easily win reelection later that year.

Four years later it appeared as if downtown’s reign
would continue with the front-running candidacy of
John Molinari. His bid, however, was upset when Art
Agnos united San Francisco’s left with a disciplined,
sustained, and effective campaign.

We all know that electoral work is just a part of the
overall effort we need to put forth. There is no
substitute for the basics of organizing and serving
our people so they can live with dignity. I will
always remain committed to the struggle and to
building progressive politics and people power in San
Francisco for the years to come.

Solidarity,

Chris Daly

It would have been a hell of a race, but I respect his decision. Now it’s time to focus on the Board of Supervisors races in 2008.

Is Bruce Brugmann alive, or is he spinning in his grave?

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August 9, 2007

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By Bruce B. Brugmann

Several folks pointed out to me that the San Francisco Chronicle carried a premature comment on my death, in its Aug. 9th feature “What people say about the designs (of our new towering highrise buildings).”

It quoted Michael S. McGill, the former executive director of the San Francisco Urban Planning & Research Association and former executive director of the Bay Area Forum, 64, now living in Washington, D.C.

Said Gill, “Having left SF at the end of the two-decade war over high-rises, in the early ’90s, I am astonished at the apparent public support for ‘the tallest high-rise on the West Coast.’ How things have changed! Is (San Francisco Bay Guardian publisher) Bruce Brugmann still alive, or is he spinning in his grave?”

Hey, Mike, good to hear from you. Your report of my death is premature and I am happy to report that the Guardian
is still firmly on top of the highrise issue, which I like to call pellmell Manhattanization. We stopped the first highrise boom with Proposition M, the limited growth initiative on commercial highrises and the downtown highrise boom.
But now the issue is highrises with million-dollar condos, ugly, much too high and out of proportion for a compact city and its compact neighborhoods, built not for residents but for people working outside the city and driving out our lower income and middle classes.

You can rest assured, Mike, that we are on the story and fighting them every way we can. And soon you may see the equivalent of a Prop M for highrise condos. Can we count on you to come back and join the battle?

Postscript: “The Devil’s Bargain at the Transbay Terminal,” a blog by Guardian Executive Editor Tim Redmond, eloquently summarizes the key political point behind the new highrise boom. “Nobody in California wants to pay higher taxes for anything. So the folks at City Hall have decided that the only way we can have a new transit terminal is if we hock a piece of our city and our skyline to fund it. So we take some of the land on the terminal site and let a developer build monstrosity of a highrise on it–and that will bring in the money that we can’t get any other way.”

Nuke barrels fall, go BOOM

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August 9, 2007

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by Amanda Witherell

Yikes, doesn’t this picture give you the willies? It’s from the Japanese nuclear power plant, located on a fault line like another nuke plant we know. (Ahem, Diablo Canyon.) Last month it succumbed to the Murphy’s Law of its seismology. This week a UK Times reporter took a tour of the facility and reports that officials are actually considering restarting the reactors even though the superstructure is still impassable and waste leaked out after the quake. Awesome.

Fly, fly, Ladybug Transistor

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August 9, 2007

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Poor Ladybug Transistor. The NYC band suffered the demise of their drummer San Fadyl this spring, around the time of the release of the chamber poppers’ latest album, Can’t Wait Another Day (Merge). The band got through it and they’ll be here once more tonight, Aug. 9, at Bottom of the Hill. And check out this track from that album, “Three Days From Now”:

Ladybug Transistor play tonight, Aug. 9, 9 p.m. Still Flyin’ and Pebble Theory open. Tickets are $8 at Bottom of the Hill.

Balls out: Tranny down

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August 9, 2007

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One of our favorite trannies of all time, Felicia Fellatio, has just informed us that she will be OOC (that’s “out of commision” for you non-TXTRS) for a while after a little necessary testicular surgery (nothing cosmetic, she informs us). But that’s not gonna stop her from partying! Below this incredibly juicy and possibly illegal pic, a message from her about the procedure — and this Sunday’s scrotum surgery celebration!

Hey friends –

So (and apologies for those that don’t know this yet) on Monday I go under the knife for surgery on my … scrotum. It’s a routine procedure, totally cool, and I will be fantastically drugged up for a week.

So mark your calendars for a BALLS OUT party next Sunday!

8:00 pm – whenever
Sunday August 12th
Truck – 15th and Folsom (they have food and a full bar!)

please bring NUTS: cashews, almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, etc
to celebrate

and no, I am not getting them removed or any sort of tranny castration surgery. (Balls and nuts are metaphors, people.)

LOVE XXOO

Lollapalooza day 2: Clap Your Hands say Yeah Yeah Yeahs – and Roots, Patti Smith, and more

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August 9, 2007

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By K. Tighe

Crowd_at_Kanye_West_photo_Cambria_Harkey sml.bmp
The Lolla crowd gives it up for Kanye West. Photo by Cambria Harkey.

Notorious for delivering live sets that sound nothing like their album cuts, New York/Philadelphia indie rockers, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah translate surprisingly well to the festival environment. Sure, most songs were unrecognizable, but still enjoyable. Frequently compared to David Byrne, Alec Ounsworth laced his nasally vocals over deconstructed disco-folk instrumentals and the people, well, they rejoiced.

The other side of the park was packed to the brim, with concert-goers eager for a much-needed dose of hip-hop. The Roots delivered. Horn players usually lack street cred, but not under the tutelage of these legendary wailers, who delivered one of the day’s best sets by somehow managing to keep their massive crowd grooving with their trademark big-band spastic sound, all while suggestively flexing their rock muscle. Earlier in the day, Chicago native Rhymefest had gracefully overcome sound difficulties to merge his blue-collar sensibilities with big band grandeur in a powerhouse hip-hop set. Although Lupe Fiasco is scheduled for tomorrow, it’s apparent that Lollapalooza could do with more hip-hop.

With a distinctive, fluid voice and some hard-earned chops as a pianist, Regina Spektor’s performance was sweet, but underwhelming. Chalk it up to timing, as she had the misfortune of performing after the Roots, or perhaps the awkwardness of hearing such intimate tunes at a corporate festival, but the much-anticipated appearance of this lovely chanteuse missed the mark.

For a hefty serving of old-school geekiness, no one need look any further than a set by the Hold Steady. These boozy intellectuals have come a long way in a short time, vocalist Craig Finn took a moment in the set to explain: “We started this band four years ago to have enough money for beer and an apartment, and now we’re going to Dublin (next month) to open for the Stones. There is so much joy in what we do here, God bless you. ” Judging by the sea of hands punching at the air through the duration of the set, there was a whole lotta joy in what they crowd was doing there, too.

Despite the fact that Karen O was gussied into a get-up that would make some Folsom Street Fairers blush, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on a strong, primal performance.

Try as she might, Ms. O just can’t hold a candle to Ms. Patti Smith. The rock and roll poetess has enamored me in the past, and never disappointed. Even on her Rock ‘n’ Roll hall of fame induction, when every other word was bleeped, she was enthralling. Still, no amount of Patti-worship could have prepared a person for the lady’s performance tonight, Aug. 4, when the heavens aligned to split open.

Halloween is cancelled. Go home.

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August 9, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

So the mayor and Sup. Bevan Dufty have officially dropped the ball. They have decided to (more or less unilaterally) eliminate any sort of Castro Street celebration, but they have nothing to replace it with.

So what happens when a bunch of partiers still decided to go to the Castro and have fun? What if bar owners decide to defy Dufty and stay open that night? Will the cops come and round everyone up? Will they send in water trucks to hose down the celebration?

What do Dufty and Newsom think a few houndred thousand people are going to do on Halloween — stay home? Not likely.

Get yer bootie to Bootie

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August 9, 2007

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By Molly Freedenberg

Mash-ups are a special kind of math: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. While I like dancing to Britney Spears (her early years) as much as the next thirteen-year-old-masked-as-an-adult, and while Bon Jovi fills me with a juvenile joy few other bands can evoke from me, hearing the two mixed together is something else entirely: I wouldn’t say transcendent, because I have no illusions that pop music (and dance music, for the most part) is best when taken at face value. But when two songs are combined, I find a supreme satisfaction – and, at the very least, entertainment – in the audial surprises that are born of the alchemy. And if each individual track is one I want to hear anyway? All the better.

Photo by Leo Herrera
DJs Adrian & the Mysterious D

A tough question for Hillary

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August 9, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

I’m really glad Paul Hogarth of Beyond Chron got to ask Hillary Clinton a tough question at the YearlyKos conference. And I’m glad his excellent query got some media bounce. I still think this was a little over the top, but nobody who works at the Guardian should ever complain about a little self-promotion.

But what makes this so astonishing is that it’s even news in the first place. No discredit to Hogarth, and I’m not in any way minimizing his work or the importance of what he did, but why did it take a 29-year-old blogger from San Francisco to do what the high-paid, high-profile crackerjacks who are covering the presidential race for the mainstream media ought to be doing every day, as a matter of course?

Access of Evil: Tweaker’s Choice!

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August 9, 2007

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How ’bout this for a shot of homegrown comedy — and lord knows I need some after the homegrown shot of comedy that was my night at the sex club. Gurl, remind me NOT to wear my night goggles up in there. I saw too much! Too much!

The kids from the new queer comedy public access show “Access of Evil” just popped me a couple new rough vids of their sketches, and they’re pretty bombatastic. You can catch the first “Access of Evil” installment on August 19 at 1am on Channel 29 — and then every third Sunday of the month at 1am thereafter.

Hit up Trax Bar at 1437 Haight on Saturday the 18th around 11pm for a cute viewing party of the first episode. Check it out!

Secret Prison Torture Playset
with the adorable Syphilis Schlaftly

Tweaker’s Choice

“Don’t text your dealer!”

Upcoming eps include, apparently:

– Carol Channing in “Goodbye Faggot”
– Homeless Crack-whore Julie Andrews
– Zombie Judy Garland
– Goth Richard Simmons

How can they miss? Oh, and for more info or if you want to get in on the act, contact them at accessofevil@yahoo.com

The (privatization) wifi initiative

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August 8, 2007

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By Tim Redmond

Sahsa at leftinsf has the full text of the mayor’s wifi initiative posted, and a phrase I hadn’t known about just leaps out:

(4) The City should initially provide the Wi-Fi Network through a public-private partnership that utilizes expertise of the high technology sector and minimizes financial risk to the City;

In other words, the mayor’s official declaration of policy (also signed by Sup. Aaron Peskin, who ought to know better) directly takes on and attempts to derail any type of municipal wifi service. The way Newsom is putting it out, we simply must privatize this piece of public infrastructure.

Nice work.

Janet Reilly for mayor?

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August 8, 2007

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By Steven T. Jones
The word is that Chris Daly is meeting with supporters tonight to decide whether to run for mayor. It could probably go either way. Meanwhile, there’s an increasingly strong movement underway to draft Janet Reilly into running for mayor. She didn’t return my call asking about it, but we’re hearing from some who say she’s thinking about it. The advantages of a Reilly run are that she could dump lots of her own money into the campaign, she’s a woman, she’s good-looking and smart, she doesn’t bring a lot of negative baggage with her, she’s acceptable to many progressives and many swells, and she’d capture a lot of voters who are sick of both Newsom and Daly.
In fact, she could even win, particularly if Daly got in and he, Ahimsa Sumchai, and Chicken John were hitting Newsom from the left and Tony Hall was taking his nastiest punches from the right. Reilly could stay above the fray and be there to take advantage of a Newsom meltdown, which is always a possibility. Hmmm, it’s something to think about, at least for the two days until the Friday 5 p.m. deadline.

End-of-summer fun with Liars, Animal Collective, Thurston Moore

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August 8, 2007

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By Sean Manning

Ah, the end of summer. A time to wake back up to reality – be it the impending school semester, a new work opportunity, or simply the realization that you’ve been lying face down in a pile of your own dirty laundry for the past few months. It’s the year’s second wind, a time for renewal and our last chance to come out on top.

It’s also, as you may have noticed, as great time for stuff in general. From movies trying to land their way onto Roger Ebert’s goo-rag to a flurry of albums being unleashed on an unsuspecting public, our wallets never seem too deep. Here’s just a few things to salivate over in the coming weeks.

Liars, Liars (Aug. 28): Every guy I know loves the Liars, and each guy’s respective girlfriend seems to hate them. What’s the deal with that? These guys are heavy, though, and this new one proves that Drum’s Not Dead was no fluke. In addition to the face-melting stuff, you get a couple of nice melodic tracks, including the bouncy “Houseclouds,” which is everything Beck wishes The Information was.

Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam (TBA): This band came back on my radar in a big way earlier this year with Panda Bear’s terrific Person Pitch, so there’s plenty of expectation surrounding this release. While not quite as joyously blissful as that album (or even Feels), Strawberry Jam is an adventurous album that further expands Animal Collective’s range (wait til you hear “Unsolved Mysteries,” which sounds like it was pulled straight of Super Mario Sunshine).

Thurston Moore, Trees Outside the Academy (Sept. 18) Good old Thurston Moore is going unplugged on this one. Gasp! Does that mean he’s winding down, getting ready for his golden years John Denver style? No, it pretty much sounds like Sonic Youth, with some nice folkly flourishes. And a gem of a recording of Thurston at age 13, experimenting with a tape recorder, hitting random objects, and narrating for your listening pleasure.

Lollapalooza day one: Ted Leo, Polyphonic Spree, MIA, LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, and more riveted our woman in Chicago

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August 8, 2007

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By K. Tighe

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No logo? Photo by Cambria Harkey.

Ted Leo himself seemed a bit apprehensive about playing under a corporate logo at his afternoon performance on Aug. 3. The political punker lost his footing at the start of his set, falling onto the deck of the Myspace stage. I’ll try to suppress the symbolism in all of this. Once he got back to his feet, he and his Pharmacists plowed through 45 minutes of pure rock, pounding out poly-agit hits like “Bomb Repeat Bomb” and “A Bottle of Buckie” to an enthusiastic crowd. Closing the set with “C.I.A.,” Leo managed to use his guitar to rain a pound the hell out of the stage for a few minutes.

Tim Delaughter’s cultish Polyphonic Spree offered indisputable proof that many bodies in motion do not make a movement. Having abandoned their trademark white robes for black military MASH jackets, the gimmicky horn section was joined by an off-key choir and a band of tap dancers. The spree had the crowd for the first part of their set, which was loaded with old favorites and tracks from their recent album, The Fragile Army. By the end of the set, after several promised that “this will be our final song,” the crowd’s energy had fallen away from the band and the audience made its way to other stages.