Ever heard of reverse graffiti? Neither had I until earlier today. Reverse graffiti artist Moose makes a big statement about clean in San Francisco’s Broadway Tunnel. Shot by documentarian Doug Pray. For most information visit www.reversegraffitiproject.com.
THIS is one of the things I LOVE about living in San Francisco!
Right when I’m in a debate that has included some of the following items:
A) Public Health issues
B) Germs Spread by Humans
C) The EXTRA dirty things that happen IN San Francisco
D) Breaking the Law in San Francisco
E) Flyers posted on utility poles being illegal
…I’m walking to work… and while I’m following THE LAW (which is suddenly so important to some SFers) waiting for the light to change, I SEE THIS FLYER, POSTED TO A UTILITY POLE, illegally; detailing a beautiful example of the germ-spreading habits of humans.
In this case, someone else’s germs will be on someone else’s FACE for charity…
Ahh…. I love it…
** NOTE: For the record, I love that people are giving away their dirty jock straps for charity and have no problem with them posting their flyer. It is merely an absolutely perfectly placed example of some of the highlights of a previously posted blog. ***
The Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, a local political institution whose endorsement is a perennial must-have for San Francisco Democrats, has received a letter from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in which he announces his opposition to the gay marriage ban amendment that will appear on California ballots this fall.
And in other political news, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has filed papers to begin a bid for Governor for the 2010 election. Newsom, forever closely linked to the gay marriage issue ever since he opened the floodgates for gay marriages in San Francisco in 2004, was vindicated earlier this year when the California Supreme Court ruled that gay marriages were constitutional in the state.
I washed my dog this morning, clipped his nails and got out the door to go see the vet for his regular check-up. Because I did not have any cash on me, I walked a little further to get coffee, to a place that takes cards.
I go in this place frequently enough. Though the “law” says dogs cannot go into food establishments, both of my closest coffee shops allow them. When I bring the pup in there, I carry him in my hoodie, just to be respectful of others.
Today, I go in and order a mocha and bagel to go. I have my dog on my shoulder.
I’m waiting for my food, when I get the feeling that someone is staring at me. I look around and my eyes land on one of the most foul specimens of human waste I’ve ever seen. Literally, this man is the human version of “Jabba the Hut”. He is a desending pile of tires of fat, rings of flesh telescoping towards the ground. He is shaped like a fleshy soft-serve, ice cream cone. His skin is yellow from jaundice and his eyes are bright red in the lids and whites, showing “Pink Eye” at the very least.
This foul man-pile yells at me from his stench-seat, “The dog goes outside”. I reply, “Are you the owner? I’m not leaving him outside.” I go back to waiting… “It’s the law” says flesh-sore-man, “Are you above the law? I’ll call the Board of Health.”
I grab my stuff to go and say to him loudly, so the whole cafe gets the message, “When you call the Board of Health, tell them you have a full-blown case of the infection known as “Pink Eye”, and that everything you have touched, including that stainless steel spoon someone else will later use, is infected.” I continue, “Tell them the money you gave the cashier, has now been handled by the same people handling the customer’s food. Tell them you have now exposed your infection to everyone in the cafe. Maybe you should think about THAT next time you worry about health codes…”
Do I need to take my 4th Anger Management class? YES.
Is it ridiculous that in San Francisco, an 8 pound, freshly-bathed dog is a health hazard, when in EVERY corner of this city, the average San Franciscan comes upon human fecal matter on every train, door handle, cafe, bathroom they use because this city is swarming with filthy, homeless crackheads?
YES, more than I need Anger Management, YES.
I pick my dog’s crap up, no matter where it lands. EVERY DAY when I walk to work, I dodge SEVERAL piles of human waste. The people who made those piles can go into any establishment they like. But I can’t bring my 8 pound, clean dog on my shoulder to get a coffee to go without having some ridiculous law spouted at me from Jabba the Jaundiced?
The LAW must GO!
Friend & restaurant owner Pamela Busch is having a fundraiser- 10% proceeds going to Equality, CA (eqca.org)- tomorrow from noon to 11PM at her restaurant, Cav Wine Bar. Check out the info on Upcoming.org. If you want to celebrate some very cool legislation and help the upcoming legal battles, stop by for a wine flight, or their mushroom-themed menu. I was there the day marriage was legalized and wow, the energy in the air was amazing. Cav was selected by Michael Bauer as one of the top 100 restaurants - so come by for a tasty nibble and support a cause! Open table is the best way to secure a spot: http://tinyurl.com/68djzk
[Gavin Newsom with Arianna Huffington in the studio. Apparently this is the one radio show on the planet where you do have to be attractive to get on. Photo by Green 960.]
The other day I caught this small item on SF Gate about Gavin Newsom’s new project: a talk radio show. The shows are being taped in advance for now. The first program will air on Saturday at noon, on 960AM. (And yes, there will also be podcasts available after each show airs. A sneak preview is evidently available here.)
My political prognostication, for what it’s worth: Newsom’s (anticipated) bid for governor will end in failure, and he’ll make a career of radio and TV punditry until such time as he can run for Senate. Look out, NPR.
Everyone loves Diesel Books, the independent store on College Ave. in Oakland [map]. Now they’re planning to open a branch in the L.A. neighborhood of Brentwood, replacing the Dutton’s that closed last year. They already have a foothold down there in Malibu (ooo!).
In other book retailing news, a local neocon blogger criticizes Green Apple Books in the Richmond District for not carrying a book by Douglas Feith, a DoD hack who was involved in pushing the country to war in Iraq and is now one of the Bush administration’s most mocked and discredited figures. (Googling “Feith +idiot” gets 92,000 hits, for example.) The same blogger elsewhere refers to Feith’s book as “a masterpiece of history,” and in another entry characterizes global warming as “hysteria” and says “the most absurd part of this hysteria is the idea that we should reduce the amount of CO2 we produce.” So you can judge for yourself whether he’s credible on bookstore ordering policies.
Speaking of Green Apple Bookstore and the Bush administration, the Chronicle’s Kathleen Pender today quoted the store’s co-owner, Pete Mulvihill, as having a feeling customers were spending their Bush “stimulus checks” at the store, and Luan Stauss of Oakland’s Laurel Book Store said three customers had told her they were doing just that.
Economist & Second City (yes, that comedy group from Canada & Chicago that feeds all of the good comics to SNL), are staging a satire of dancing extremes on 6/26. We have free tix. Just email me. Get your tix here: here and here.
Check out the full election results for the City-County of San Francisco here, and for the State of California here. As you’ve probably already heard, with voter turnout of about 28%, Measure G passed with about 61% voting yes; Measure F failed with 62% voting no. (One Chronicle reader thought it lost mostly because Chris Daly endorsed it, which is probably true.)
And happily, Proposition 98 was soundly beaten statewide. It seems that few Californians were fooled by that transparent attempt to screw renters. I lived for years in a mobile home park, and I understand the plight of the owners — they are probably the one group most negatively affected by rent control — but revoking rent control for all renters under all circumstances throughout the entire state was just a blatant grab for money. They need to work out a different approach that would be acceptable to both parties; perhaps that could be accomplished by limiting future proposals to just the tenants and owners of mobile home parks. There must be a way to leave rent control basically in place while granting a bit more flexibility in setting rates to the owners. In other words, a compromise: that seemingly rare animal in modern politics.
Canada’s Second City & the Economist present, “Dancing with the Candidates,” June 26th. What is it?
“The Art of Political Satire” In an antidote to the grueling political season, the audience will be fully immersed in an evening of engaging improv, a hands-on tutorial in cartooning, and a panel chat on the art of political satire. http://artofsatire.economist.com
Email me if you want to get a pair of free tickets. Check out the clip at artofsatire.econonomist.com and answer this question- what does Bush eventually do to help out McCain’s campaign? anna-at-banane.com, first email I get will receive the tickets!
June 26, 2008; 6:30pm Doors Open; 7:00-8:30pm Event
$20 for general admission; $10 for The Economist subscribers, students
and seniors; Ticket purchases: www.ybca.org/tickets; 415.978.ARTS
This was organized pretty fast- I wonder if Clinton won the nomination, if they’d have her dancing with McCain? Now that’s a nasty thought.
