San Francisco is My Home

25
Mar

Still carrying a torch

Author: kris, Category: News, Politics, Sports

Lots of uproar over the upcoming passage of the Olympic torch through San Francisco. The i.m. Newsom and his posse of city administrators are being tight-lipped about the planned route, which is getting the ACLU and associated protesters hot under the collar. There’s a lot of talk about protesting China’s crimes against Tibet, especially if Chinatown is part of the torch’s route.

I don’t know what to think about all that. On the one hand, I am firmly against the way China is handling their involvement in Tibet, obviously. On the other hand, there’s a nice ideal attached to the Olympics, that pretty image of there being one place where we all meet up. Even those of us committing atrocities against innocent Tibetan monks.

It’s like a family, I guess. Your brother and cousin may hate each other, or maybe your great-aunt is a racist windbag, or who knows what. Still, you all get together on Thanksgiving. Maybe pointlessly, maybe not.

Then again, China is more than an impotent windbag at this point. Maybe even in a family you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

Thoughts?

29
Feb

Sometimes the best apples are at the bottom. Right?

Author: kris, Category: News, People, Politics

From out of the bowels of San Francisco, Nader has chosen Matt Gonzalez as his running mate. (Nader’s running again, did you know this? That sound you hear is the sound of thousands of conservative Democrats groaning in unison. They’re so cute, like little synchonized knee-jerkers.)

According to the Chron, Gonzalez, who has served on the SF Board of Supervisors and lost to Newsom in the 03 mayoral race, “is a hero to the Bay Area left.” The local anarchists I know mostly don’t like him much, but I’m guessing that’s not the left the Chron is talking about. All I know is that while playing for the Supes, he did enact legislation that forbad the SF Zoo from keeping elephants, for which he has earned my eternal love. And he used to hold wine and cheese parties in his office for any members of the public who were interested.

As a complete unknown to most of the country, even the three of them who still read the news, I don’t see how Gonzalez could possibly help Nader. And as Public Enemy Number 1 in the eyes of many Demos, I don’t see how Nader could possibly help Gonzalez. In fact, their race for the presidency will be way less interesting to watch than their race to see who can shoot the other one in the foot faster.

This image of Nader is from here.

28
Feb

Save the Palace!

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks, News, Politics

San Francisco has three important palaces. There’s the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Palace of the Legion of Honor. And then there is the Cow Palace.

The amusing name derives from its original function, which was to house large livestock at the Pan-Pacific International Expo. The idea came about in 1915, but wasn’t completed until 1941.

These days the Palace houses all kinds of stuff, from the annual Dickens Christmas Faire to political speakers to popular bands to Disney’s Princess on Ice show. But State Senator Yee is proposing to sell the Palace to Daly City, who will definitely knock it down and replace it with a supermarket and other stuff the neighborhood needs.

What kind of person tells a Daly City family they can’t have a grocery store because we want to keep our entertainment center there, right? And yet…

The thing that makes living in SF and environs good, the reason we pay such high prices for rent and food and transportation, the reason people flock here in droves, isn’t just the great weather. It’s because the Bay Area is one of those places that still has a strong personality, one that would shine through even if you removed all the kooky, lovable characters. Because we have things like the Castro Theatre and the Albany Bulb and, of course, the Cow Palace.

If you are unconvinced, consider that part of why the Daly City council wants the thing torn down is because it hosts “too many gun shows, erotic balls and rap concerts.” A strike for the Cow Palace is a strike against censorship!

If you’ve got something to say on this, whether for or against, I urge you to attend tonight’s first meeting to discuss the possible sale of the C.P.

Meeting times are:

Tonight, 7 o’clock: Bayshore Community Center, 450 Martin St., Daly City

March 8, 10 a.m.: Visitacion Valley Community Center, 66 Raymond Ave., San Francisco

March 8, 11 a.m.: Bayshore Community Center, 450 Martin St., Daly City

March 25, 7 p.m.: Saddleback Homeowners Clubhouse, 1800 Saddleback Drive, Daly City

This photo of The Beatles playing at the Cow Palace was taken by Bob Campbell.

08
Jan

Accident on the N line

Author: kris, Category: News, Politics, Transportation

Our i.m. Gavin Newsom (that’s “illustrious mayor,” for those of you who don’t keep up with my made-up slang) is ditching three of the seven members of the transit board. Not a bad idea, considering that a different headline reports yet another MUNI accident. This time an N-Judah train ran into a 90 year old woman. In another city this might be a PR disaster for the i.m., but here, let’s face it, it’s kind of par for the course. A day that you don’t read a Chron headline about a MUNI accident is a day you spend vacationing outside the city.

So, okay, they’re not the safest trains in the yard. But say it with me: Ennnnnn. Joo-daaaaahhh. Ennn. Joo-daaaaahhh. There is no train more fun to say.

30
Nov

Mayoral candidate charged with misdemeanor

Author: kris, Category: News, Politics

One of the opponents in the recent mayoral race (won, in the predictable landslide, by current mayor and all-around honey Gavin Newsom) was a homeless taxi driver who –

I’m sorry, I need to take a moment to enjoy that idea. Okay. The candidate, Grasshopper Alec Kaplan –

Nope, still not over it. The homeless taxi driver, Grasshopper, who ran for mayor, was charged with a misdemeanor two weeks before the election for, as the Chron puts it, “allegedly playing guitar naked while atop his purple van outside the San Mateo Expo Center.”

Anyway, he failed to show up for his court date, and here is what the Chron says about that, which is maybe my favorite part of the whole thing:

“If we don’t do something, it’s basically saying, yeah, he can sit out on his van playing his guitar naked anytime he wants,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. “I think that might infringe on other people’s pursuit of happiness.”