On my way back from a run I noticed about 5 really attractive people sitting outside Kennedy’s. Not to harsh on Kennedy’s, but these people were Tall and Skinny. I thought it was appropriate that they were dressed in brown and black.

“They call us down and then we have to wait 7 hours. It’s like this each time.” And a lot more grumbling from the extras and staff. Note: a little bird told me they’re not getting carried over into another session, so feelings may be low.

Some neighbors have been complaining, and from what they’ve seen on TV, it hasn’t lived up to the hype. Most of us are just shocked at the money that Hollywood is paying in location fees. For some reason I think it’s 10K/day per spot, but not including the cost of cops, actors, etc. of course.

But anyways, what do you *think* about the miniseries? Well I’ve watched it far too many times, and here are my thoughts.

Episode 2: All’s Fair

First off, the guy from Friday Night Lights is sitting with another guy at Fort Point. Then, they respond to a call at the projects in Bay View. Estimated storytime? 2 minutes. Yep. There are a lot of problems like this one.

They don’t give The White Guy enough lines and time, which is interesting in this series, if you think that most of media gives a lot of time to The White Guys. But the problem is he’s a great actor and it’s kind of wasted, since he has no time to show us he is edgy and crazy. “Don’t kill the white guy,” was perhaps my favorite line in this- when he’s dealing with gang crime over in Bay View.

I really liked that a Caffe Trieste scene was within the first 10 minutes. I don’t really care about the love interest stuff. Can I say that The White Girl looks like a younger Jenna Elfman, and that would be the second time a SF story (Ed TV) featured a Jenna Elfman-ish woman in uniform? Hm. I think I revealed more about myself than any Hollywood plot.

OK this scene has caused the biggest talk amongst neighbors: the hot new guy and The White Girl respond to a call on Maccharini steps (pronounced correctly!) where an old man is halfway up, with a heart attack. Where is he going? The only thing up there is the Green Tortoise hostel, home of crabs and scabies. And young Euro tourists. Anyways, White Girl craftily attempts to give him oxygen and he refuses, he’s really just trying to get some morphine. Those wily EMTs! The funny bit is that the vehicle is parked halfway up. Um, how exactly did it get there? There was a random driving sequence that made no sense. And homeless old drug addict guys do not climb stairs. You’re relatively safe from homeless people on hills. Points to the actors for huffing and puffing their way through the lines. That was real.

Hospital scene, some kind of Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve decided this is St. Francis on Nob Hill. And why, oh why, are there only 5 people who work in this hospital? Having visited the emergency room there (sadly) there was a lot of registration staff, and a few seconds of a doctor, oh, and a lot more EMTs and orderlies.

Just to keep track, 2 calls so far. The next one is a blow-out, a car careens into Embarcadero Street Fair. My question with so much of this is- why make it up? There’s vendors there every day, as well as weird promotions. You don’t have to make it a real fair. Nobody calls it anything, either. It’s just … Embarcadero. I would have preferred the Farmer’s Market myself, but hey.

This happened in another city, and the whole “ripped from the headlines” thing is cute, but in all, at this point watching it the first time, I was done with the violence. It’s just pretty stark and random. I guess they’re trying to get some feeling going for the adrenalin rush and randomness of safety work, but for me as a veiwer, it was stressful. Oh, and note, The White Guy and his partner drove from Washington Square Park to Embarcadero in a realistic story-time (5 mins?).

There are more kids in this show already than per capital in SF. Just sayin’, the kid-acting wasn’t that hot, and the whole subplot of Rabbit and his aversion to kids didn’t work for me. Most of the sentimental subplots aren’t working, not sure why yet. Perhaps because they don’t have enough time or interest to engage? The lines are quick and sappy? The macho stuff doesn’t hold?

The White Guy again got me with a good line- as they’re leaving the Embarcadero Street Fair, his partner says he’s hungry and The White Guy goes, “Noodles?” I have low standards.

My final note that I wrote while watching: “the number of crimes in this show is apocalyptic. Can’t they give some love to Oakland, Richmond or Fremont?”

That’s from my birthday party last year at BOW BOW, a karaoke bar on Grant at Broadway. One of my favorite moments was when Candy kicked out 10 privileged twenty-somethings (I’m sure they Yelped about it immediately). Why? Because one of the guys was ordering a gin and tonic about 10 different times and refusing it each time, loudly. Why you would get a mixed drink here, is beyond my knowledge. It would take you about 5 minutes to realize your best bet is sake, Chinese whiskey, or bottled beer. Friends I made that night- another set of local regulars, two guys who considered Candy their adoptive mom, and 3 very professional old guys singing standards.

The song book has listings in Cantonese, Tagalog and English, and you will be rated, not only by the score on the big screen, but by the three guys sitting in the back waiting for their turn. One of the bartenders is opera-quality – she’s the one singing Edelweiss in Cantonese.

Never mind that this cops understanding of the law is way outdated, try 6 years old. It is a matter of fact, Skateboarding is allowed in all those places he claims it is not. Read for yourself, the only provision in the county code when Skating isn’t allowed:

San Francisco City and County law

“a) Prohibits skateboarding on any city street at any time, on any sidewalk in any business district at any time, and on any non-business district sidewalk commencing 30 minutes after sunset and ending 30 minutes before sunrise (Traffic Code, Section 100)”

Snipped from the Supes Legislative analysts memo from 2003.

Skateboarding is only illegal at NIGHT. This kid looks to be right, this cop is acting like a fucking dick. I mean fer chrissakes we even have a SF Skateboarding Task Force (PDF)!

Previously: Book on A’s GM to lens; Brad Pitt will play Billy Beane

When: Happy hour 6pm – 9pm (but open late)
What: Donate $5 to our organization and enjoy drinks and appetizers at happy hour prices; $3 pints and $5 apps for extended happy hour (till 9pm). Also enjoy the musical stylings of Polemo.

Oakland businesses and city agencies will hold an event tomorrow called the Uptown Unveiled Street Fair to draw attention to the north side of downtown, an area including the renovated Fox Theatre, arts school, ice rink and other attractions. Among other events, the new branch of the Piedmont Piano Company will be open 5-10 pm with free music, food and drink.

Click here to see the above poster full-sized. CLick here for a PDF map of the event.

Thao Nguyen. Flickr photo by Switchburn

The evening also features readings from authors Peter Orner, Andrew Greer, Damion Searls, and poet Barbara Jane Reyes, performance by Word for Word Performing Arts Company, films by Wholphin, and music by The Yellow Dress.

The show starts at 8:00 pm Monday at the Makeout Room (map). Get information and advance tickets.

Local photographer Thomas Hawk made a very interesting post on his website today, reporting his “unscientific survey” of what commuters were doing on his 9 a.m. BART train from MacArthur to Embarcadero this morning. He didn’t ask anyone what they were doing, relying on his own observations. Most people were “doing nothing,” he found; others he broke down into “other” and into several categories of reading. See his post for the stats.

I love the idea of noticing what others are doing, and recording it unobtrusively and reporting it. It sounds a bit creepy when put that way, but there’s nothing wrong with doing so in a public space. I’d love to see people do this exact thing from time to time: walk the length of a bus or train and compile the same stats, or different ones. It’s just as valuable and interesting to report on skirt lengths, how many people smell, or the number of people wearing glasses.

That said, it’s interesting that Hawk happened to sort his survey by media consumption, and that he expresses surprise that “so many of the people on BART were simply doing nothing (this included sleeping as well).” Of course, BART, and public transit in general, is a great place to read. I’ve sometimes gotten on a BART train and ridden all the way to the end of the line and back just to have a comfortable reading experience uninterrupted by phones, people I know, my cats, or trips to the refrigerator. But those who were sitting quietly “doing nothing” may have relished the chance to do so as much as the people who were devouring media. As someone who sits in front of a computer all day and, often, much of the evening, I find it nice to have a time where I can’t do so — this includes driving, going to the ballgame or the symphony, and yes, “doing nothing.”

By the way, I just noticed that BART has a page on its website where it collects blog and Twitter posts about BART.