Apartment on Post Street

New Blog - Suburbs of San Francisco

2009-09-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hey all, here's my new blog:

The Suburbs of San Francisco

Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

Out of the Tenderloin - Bittersweet

2009-08-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Last week it became official: Aptonpost moved out of the TL and into the Sunset. After 10+ years of District 6 and trying to make it work, this blog's author finally gave up. I'm just like Chris Daly, except I never tried to make downtown un-livable for families; rather, I tried my best to keep the place safe and welcoming to all.

In my TL time I've witnessed fights, stabbings, public sex, outdoor shitting, people shooting up heroin, crackheads hitting the pipe, car accidents, transvestites, drag kings, weekend warrior yuppies, houses catching on fire, swat teams invading the building next to mine, outdoor drug markets, motorcycles hauling ass up the street the wrong way, homelessness, drunks, immigrant families trying to make a living, male, female, and transgender prostitution, domestic/spousal abuse, politico grandstanding, shootings, sewer explosions, police stand offs, President Obama driving past my house waving, Dick Cheney's secret service barricade blocking my street...you name it, and I think I may have witnessed it in the Tenderloin.

Damn, I'm gonna miss that place.

I've since moved into San Francisco's Sunset District. A lot more calm and a lot more safe for my kid. I live close to the park and about a 10 minute bike ride to the beach (I also bought a bike). Things are good.

With that said, I'm regrettably going to have to retire Apt On Post dot Blogspot dot Com. Oh, I'll keep it up and if TL inspiration hits I'll update it for sure. BUT, I'm most likely going to focus most of my online attention to a new blog in the future about my Sunset life (title/content to be determined).

To all and any of my regular readers, thank you for indulging me this small, insignificant online presence and please keep an eye out for my newer blog to debut soon.

Chris Daly Moves out of San Francisco

2009-07-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

What a tool!

Chris Daly hasn't done anything to support District 6 families (witness the kids walking down Hyde Street playing next to crack heads and drunks), and here's proof: moving his own family out of the city.

Man, this guy is worse than Gavin Newsom.

Politics is a sleezy game, and this guy is one of the worst.

Michael Jackson Dies at 50

2009-06-25T16:16:00.001-07:00

Oh man, I seriously feel like crying. Poor Michael. RIP.

The Beginning of June

2009-06-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

My past weekend was spent in Southern San Diego. I enjoyed humid evenings, warm nights, and drinks with some good friends and family. The atmosphere was friendly and COMPLETELY unlike the atmosphere around Post Street.

In the two days since I've been back I've stuck my head out the window and told two cracked out lovers (one skinny black dude with no teeth and a latin/white looking transvestite with brown hair and a big nose). The whole thing was aggressive:

Me: "Hey, hey you, look up, look up!"
Tranny GF: "Oh, are we being too loud, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Me: "I'm trying to sleep and put my baby to sleep."
Skinny black dude with no teeth: "Sleep? SO?!? So!"
Me: "Yeah my baby." (the hardest stare I could conjure up)
Tranny GF: "Oh no, we're sorry, we're sorry. It's all good baby, he's cool, he's cool."
Skinny black dude with no teeth: Incoherent mumbling as he stalks away
Me: "Fuck."

That was Sunday night. THEN, there's this afternoon when some homeless black dude with gray hair tried to come up behind me real quick. So quick that I had to put the brakes on him.

Me: "Whoa, hold up dude. Hold up."
Homeless dude: "well, uhh...wha...!"
Me: "Hold on mom, I gotta call you back." (hang up the phone with my mom!)
Driver: "Hey, you got a fare? You need to pay!"
Homeless dude: Shakes his head up and down
Me: Walk to the back of the bus and dial my mom again.
Homeless dude: Pays his fare and comes towards me in the back of the bus. "You muthafukkka, you fuk, there's a riot coming, a riot!"
Me: "What?!?" "You walked into me!"
Homeless dude: "Why you gotta do a riot, it's fukkkin 2009, fuck, bitch, suck my dick, there's a riot gonna happen!"
Me: "Hold on mom, I gotta call you back to take care of this guy." Hang up the phone. "Look, I'm gonna sit over here now, you fukkked up."
Homeless dude: Incoherent babble
Me: Sit uncomfortably on the 3 Jackson at Market Street and decide to get off and catch the 38L to the Fillmore.

I'm thinking of moving. Do you think I made the right decision this time?

Years of Refusal = New Band, Same Moz Mope

2009-03-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure: I've been a Morrissey fan since high school. A long time ago. I've been into Morrissey and the Smiths back when people were trying to justify this by saying, "Well, Smiths, Morrissey, Joy Division, New Order, it's all the same, and I like it all." Yeah, sure...

I wanted to get this album on CD rather than downloading it from Itunes b/c: 1.) I wanted to hold the liner notes in my hands; and 2.) I wanted to listen to it on something other than my Ipod. I'm glad I did b/c this CD is in heavy rotation right now.

Morrissey's back to form via his "Your Arsenal" days and even a little bit of style from "You Are the Quarry." In other words, he went back to rock and moved away from slow moving tracks like, "Life is a Pigsty" and "Moon River." His new band is amazing, all parts work well together and IMHO, they gave Moz a relevant sound in 2009. Not to take anything away from A. White or Boz, but sorry guys, it's a young man's world and Moz did the right thing in hiring a fresher and more energetic band without graying hair.

Song highlights include "Mama Lay Softly on the River Bed" and "All You Need is Me." Pick this one up today.

I'm Slipping in the Eyes of my Peers

2009-02-04T23:52:00.000-08:00

I got a notice today at my job: "You're slipping in the eyes of your peers." What? When did anyone notice that I was doing a bad job? More to the point, who the f'k thinks I'm doing a bad job?!?

My job consists of being a full time fund development person, and I sit on 10 committees!!! That means I have workloads for 10 different volunteer groups. I'm ticked off that my job thinks I'm not working hard. SO ticked that I can't sleep and I'm up typing on my blog to get it out.

The issue is to either walk, eat it, or work it out. I don't know. Thinking about it is not only a blow to my fragile ego, but more of an indictment of my current work capacities. For a select few to dictate my happiness and how much time I spend with my family and my art is, in my mind, insane. We are not put here on this earth to work, that's the spirit of capitalism. Rather, my time on this world is meant to develop meaningful relationships with people and be proud of the work I create.

I thought I was proud, but now I'm just bummed out.

It's sad and disheartening to be writing this, b/c I almost feel as if I'm at a crossroads of sorts. I need to make the decision that's right for me and not let it be driven by fear or doubt. Instead, I need to follow what I believe is the right thing to do in the long run. THEN, only then, can I achieve a fulfilling life.

Oscar Grant Shooting on BART

2009-01-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

Turn the volume up to here this one.

I know some people will say, "Awww, he was acting a fool, if he wasn't causing trouble in the first place he'd still be ok, etc., etc." Yeah, that's great and all, but man, this cop REALLY F'd UP on this one!

2009

2009-01-01T20:49:00.000-08:00

It's 2009 and I'm sick. I had planned to open a bottle of champagne with my wife when the baby went to bed, but I caught a cold. My wife had it first, then the boy, and then me. I still have it and it's messing up my new year.

My resolution is to get back in shape. Since I'm home most of the time, I sit on my ass surfing the internet and wasting time on youtube. It's sad. I'm watching my life pass me by, but I'm ok with it b/c my son is experiencing new stuff each day.

I'm sure there's some sort of cliche that says if a father isn't experiencing all that life has to offer, then his child is probably going to be the same. I'm a cliche.

Tae Bo and 10 Things I Hate About You

2008-12-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

I was at the goodwill by my house last Sunday and I picked up two videos:

"Tae Bo with Billy Blanks" (since the baby's been born, there has been NO EXERCISE for me, I hate it!)

AND

"10 Things I Hate About You" with Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, a movie about high schoolers in 2000 (I love movies like this!)

It's been so long since I've updated this blog, let alone be creative in any capacity. It's tough, and I can't believe how single parents do it. I can barely hang with a partner in crime for this.

My time is spent working, a lot, and then coming home and relieving my wife so she can get some personal time to eat, wash up and stay connected to the world outside of our small two bedroom condo. Things are regular, things are scheduled, and things are generally predictable.

I'm not complaining, I'm just venting. Is that the same thing? Hmmm...

A Question of Repairs

2008-12-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

The handle on my dishwasher broke and I can either buy the part here and do it myself for $60, or get a professional to come out and fix it for $170.

There's a conflicting emotion in me that says, "Don't be a wus and fix it yourself!" But there's also a similar voice telling me, "Don't be a macho dumbass and try to fix something you don't understand, you'll only wind up breaking it more!"

SO, I think I'm going to go with the second feeling and get someone out here tomorrow. Home ownership is a pain in the arse.

Waiting for the Election to be Over

2008-10-10T21:26:00.001-07:00

Regular readers of my blog will know that I'm what you would call a "political wonk" (or probably a "political hack" is more appropriate). In any case, my point is that in the past I have relished in examining all the different aspects of charter amendments, revenue bond propositions, and signature driven referendums on the status quo.

However, this year it's different.

I really am ambivalent to the outcome of both our local San Francisco election and our Federal Election. "Change," "Lipstick on a pig," "Savings and Loan Scandal," "Maverick," "Hussein," "Hockey Mom," and "Swing States." These terms, as well as all other political rhetoric, have taken their toll on me. I'm the product of a postmodern election cycle where words are meaningless and personal beliefs are projected upon candidates to where social conflicts are reified and used to benefit one social class over the other. Red states are seen as more patriotic and Blue states are seen as more progressive. Support for the war is encouraged and the civil rights movement is referenced to re-live a cultural turning point so that present day voters can feel as if this moment in time is as significant, if not more significant, than the days of their predecessors.

Well, hate to say it, but it's not.

Regardless of who wins the election, regardless of which ballot measures pass or fail, and regardless of who is elected to the local school boards, nothing is going to "change." Wall Street will continue to be bailed out by our so-called representatives and poor schools will continue to struggle with educating young students.

What I'm saying is that social inequalities and the spirit of capitalism are inherent in our American Culture. No one person, nor group of activists, can change this fact. Elections are exercises in futility in that they mask the hierarchy in which we live. In "giving" individuals "the right to vote," society has duped us into thinking we have a choice, that we have free will, and most importantly, that our opinions matter.

They don't, and Americans are secretly ok with that. Why else hasn't there been a major revolution in this country? It's because we're happy with our IPhones, worrying about our stocks, getting our new rims, checking our facebook, writing on our blogs, and generally pacifying ourselves with American-made goods.

This is why I want the election to be over. I want people to stop pretending like they care. Elections give society an opportunity to plant their stakes in the ground and declare, "I am for XXX candidate, therefore, I am superior to those who support YYY candidate." Neither is superior, and elections create alienation among the populace, contributing to our already existing alienation from ourselves on account of living in modern society.

Daylight TL Stabbing

2008-09-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Check it out, more Tenderloin drama. This is pretty nasty. I think there's even a playground there with kids playing in the morning. Great. Thanks a lot SF leaders, letting our neighborhood turn to shit (even more so than it was already).

Sometimes I feel like I'm stressing myself out over this stuff. Like I'm the only one who actually gives a shit about the streets. I know that's probably not the case, but that's what it sure feels like. Does anyone else really care about what happens in the TL? The crack, the seedy sex industry, homelessness, etc.? Or is the city content with having district 6 be the area of San Francisco where people can come by and get their kicks?

To quote the Smiths, "Has the world changed or have I changed?"

Baby Time

2008-08-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

My son Paulo was born this past Monday after 3 days of labor. Oye, my poor wife. We literally stayed awake from Friday night until Wednesday night. We had a little emergency room scare b/c he wasn't peeing when he came home but things are fine now. He's big, alert, and a ton of fun. I realize it's super corny to say "nothing can describe the feeling of having a kid," but the cliche is very true.

Ever since we had him home we've been trying our best to get him on a schedule and re-gain our sense of balance. So far so good. Sleep hasn't been too much of an issue and with the help of our family, we've been able to adjust. People always prepare you for the worst, but I guess we got lucky (I hope I'm not jinxing myself writing that :).

More to come in the future since I now have to change another diaper.

San Francisco's Sanctuary City Policy

2008-08-02T23:46:00.000-07:00

Uh oh, San Francisco non-profits are getting the backlash to this whole uproar against San Francisco's Sanctuary City Policy. Someone's going to get fired, and I don't think it's going to be Newsom. Here's the story that pushed the city's sanctuary city policy to the forefront.

Man, SF is really fucked on this one. I'm all for supporting illegal aliens, I've written numerous letters to the editor in support of undocumented workers in CA and how they contribute to the economy, but whoa...I think SF really screwed themselves on this one. It's a sticky issue, more on this later.

Until then, here's a video I made for Cervantes' CD Release Party (happened last Thursday, and it was a success!).

Fourth of July Holiday

2008-07-03T23:58:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is the fourth of July and we're meant to celebrate our patriotism. I have the day off, thank ghod. So seriously, I thank all the young people in Iraq in Afghanistan fighting for their lives.

Here's something on the campaign trail about patriotism.

Do you think Democrats have buyer's remorse about Obama? His changing views on big issues have caused an uproar in the Republican camp. Remember when Bush was able to defeat Kerry in 2004 over the "flip flopper" label? Are we going to witness a repeat of said events in 2008? Only time will tell...

Until then, check out this promo video I made for Cervantes' upcoming show at the Bottom of the Hill.

"Wow, you're like an adult!"

2008-06-12T22:39:00.001-07:00

This is what was said to me after work. It came after I told a guy 10 years older than me about my soon to be born child. He gave me a broad smile and his graying hair shook with his laughter.

After that, I went to the park and played frisbee. I was running around the grass with the dogs and their owners. Instead of sitting around I got up and tried to stay healthy, something I would encourage you all to do. No one likes a fatty, except maybe Morrissey.

In the park are mostly upper middle class people (wait, did I just describe the majority of San Franciscans?). These people in the park ride their bikes, talk to their animals, and clean up after their furry beasts. Others are on their cell phones or riding their bikes on a date. They wear their helmets and sunglasses, acting like they're comfortable on their two wheeled vehicles.

I'm catching the frisbee with alternating hands. I'm throwing the disc with both left and right hands, jumping high to reach for the throw that flew over my head.

Am I showing off? I don't know. You'd have to ask those women who were staring at me. :)

The Next San Francisco Election

2008-05-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

Jesus, it feels like we're voting each month. Voting on mundane city policies that should be handled by our elected officials.

Needless to say, there's a bunch of junk on the June San Francisco Ballot and for once, I feel like not voting.

It's not that I don't care about redevelopment in Bayview Hunters Point, or Public Utilities Commission (PUC) appointments, or Diversity on City Commissions. It's just that I'm tired San Francisco. I'm tired of all the bickering and political posturing. I'm tired of personal vendettas again the mayor, against the board of supervisors, against businesses, homeowners, renters, homeless people, neighborhood coalitions...this list can go on.

Are we as San Francisco residents so ignorant that we can't/won't get along for the greater good of our city? This June Ballot proves to me that our elected officials are ego-maniacs incapable of finding consensus among their peers. I'm convinced that San Francisco officials are more concerned with advancing their own pet projects and ideologies than they are with improving the communities we live in.

You want proof? Just walk down Hyde Street and ask yourself, "Is this what the city thinks we deserve as tax paying citizens?"

We deserve better and need qualified leaders to support us and our families.

Mexico Cruise

2008-04-29T22:07:00.001-07:00

Here's a video from my Mexico Cruise 2008.

Protesting the Olympic Torch

2008-04-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

I hope that they change the route of the Olympic Torch to run down Hyde Street. They could go past Post Street all the way to SF Civic Center, right past the Asian Art Museum to highlight China's hosting the Olympic Games. They'd see people crouching in-between cars, smoking crack and taking dumps. They'd also see people wearing dingy clothes like it wasn't a big deal, soiled in their own filth, dark and stained in the all the wrong places. These guys and gals wake up, look for their day's fix, gather in small TL apartments and get high. "Functioning addicts" is what the newscasters would call them as the torch passed by the $2 Pabst Specials at the Nite Cap.

However, As I'm writing this, the SF torch route has changed and now it's on Bush and Van Ness. Right by my house! Maybe I should go. Hmmm...

Since it's gettting sunny

2008-02-05T17:31:00.001-08:00

In Memory of Chauncey Bailey - An American Journalist

2008-01-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

The following are excerpts from the San Francisco Chronicle, "Muslim Bakery head wielded political clout," Matthai Kuruvila, Kevin Fagan, Jaxon Van Derbeken. CLICK HERE for the entire article.

"In the torture and kidnapping case, Nedir Bey and three other men had allegedly burned the victim with a heated knife and beaten him with a heavy-duty flashlight. In a plea bargain, they pleaded no contest to one felony count each of false imprisonment.

And when it came time for sentencing, the probation officer reported that Nedir Bey had references from County Supervisor Keith Carson as well as Larry Reid, who was then Mayor Elihu Harris' chief of staff and later became a city councilman. Oakland Police Department Officer Emelington Reese, whose beat included the bakery, also wrote a letter of reference.

In the end, Judge Martin Jenkins sentenced Nedir Bey to six months probation.

Carson and Reese confirmed vouching for Nedir Bey, based on their experiences seeing his work in the community. Reid has said the reference was listed without his permission.

Today, the hollowed-out shell of a building on San Pablo Avenue that until recently was the bakery gives no hint of the power the organization wielded.

Workers renovating the place into a new AIDS treatment center said they found dozens of abandoned women's driver's licenses, pornography, gallons of urine in soft drink bottles, used condoms, expended and unexpended bullets - all, like the allegations of late, testifying to an existence behind closed doors that didn't seem to match the tidy, disciplined image that held sway for so long.

But back on Aug. 3, when 200 police officers raided the bakery and arrested a suspect in Bailey's slaying, they found one last reminder of the group's political pull on display. It hung near the pie case - an August 2002 letter to the bakery founder from state Sen. Perata.

It read: "The leadership you provide should be an inspiration to all concerned over the city's future."

Heath is Dead

2008-01-22T22:53:00.001-08:00

As soon as this happened, I heard it through all my co-workers. Jesus Christ, I mean, it sucks when people die, but I don't even hear about murders in my neighborhood as fast as this.

Oh well, RIP dude. Hope your kid is fine. BTW, is it too obvious to post this?

Post Number 200!

2008-01-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

As if this study about the Bush Administration lying about the pre-war intelligence is news, but just thought I'd post it for the heck of it. I'm so jaded I don't even care. That's horrible.

Study: False Statements Preceded War, by DOUGLASS K. DANIEL

Turtle Power

2008-01-03T22:47:00.000-08:00

Seriously, this link that I put on YouTube is really silly. I guess my mom's turtle was humping the wall and here's the proof. Too funny.

Turtle Gone Wild!

Time to just relax

2007-12-21T15:24:00.000-08:00

A cop once told me to relax as he was scaling down my fire escape one day.

Here's something I need to relax, great song.

"Tree vandals, Drug Dealers"

2007-12-19T18:58:00.000-08:00

This is an email I'm re-printing and posting without permission from a local Tenderloin resident about the conditions of our neighborhood.

----

Yesterday morning (Monday Dec 17)I was shocked to see several trees on our block brutally vandalized. Some miscreant ripped off branches, tearing into the trunk. The trees will recover, but will be scarred.

Also, crack dealers have made our sidewalks their place to deal crack, 24/7. Several live in the Weller at 908 Post and I am sure you have seen them dealing quite openly on the 500-600 blocks of Hyde, 900 block of Post, the 800-900-1000 blocks of Larkin but worst of all, the 700-800-900 blocks of Geary. I have to tell you that I get a gut wrenching feeling that our neighborhood has been taken over by a gang of thugs as well as miscreants that we used to see only on 6th Street. I call the non emergency police line at 553-0123 as often as I am able, but it has gotten to the point that I could make a career out of just making calls for police service, apparently to no positive results. Believe me, our neighborhood was much better 10 years ago--while it needed a boost, it wasn't at all as scary, dirty and seedy as it is now.

As stakeholders, we must work together and speak to City officials to tell them that their policy of turning tourist hotels into halfway houses is doing egregious harm to our lives, our business ventures, our property values. Former nice hotels which hosted budget minded tourists now have some miserable wretches who are uncivilized and bringing everyone else down with them---eg Union Hotel, International Pension (now the Looper Residence), Heartland Hotel and soon the Essex hotel will become a SRO. How is it possible to civilize the unwilling? Past experience has shown that creating a concentration camp for alcoholics, drug addicted, sex offenders, drug dealers, criminals, parollees, unemployed individuals who are unwilling to become civilized, healthy and productive citizens will inevitably lead to severe decline and totally uncivilized disorder.

The City has not only neglected our neighborhood but has wittingly or unwittingly created the conditions that will destroy civilized and peaceful living that we are legally entitled to. I really can't put up with it any longer, and am really at the end of my tether.

Any ideas of what actions we should take?

Oakland Shootings

2007-12-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

This is a good article on the current situation of young black men living in Oakland. Not that I know, since I don't live there, but I think's it well researched. AND, I can nod my head in agreement with a majority of the statements. So I'm recommending it to you.

I Won't Back Down (from asking too many questions)

2007-12-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Remember this video by Tom Petty? 143 U-tube!!!

I'm watching Tyra Banks tell the world she's 33. That age used to seem so far off for me, but now it's right around the corner.

Let's just say, what if we held ourselves to the same standard as Tyra, who by age 33 has developed a small corporate empire under her feet? Would it be fair to say that we've all failed? Can we say that since we haven't amounted to nationwide notoriety that we have ultimately amounted to "less than?" Since we're not household names, are we then unknowns and therefore invisible?

Who knows? And more importantly, who cares? So Tyra and other celebrities exist in our society's shared consciousness, so what? Is that the standard America sets for success? I ask you, is our culture of capitalist USA one that pushes the proletariat, the worker, into a state of nothingness? We're forced to admire and look up to individuality in our daily consumer lives and experiences; however, when we take it upon ourselves to stand out (e.g., start a personal business, hold opinions that express individual social concerns, etc.), we are eventually silenced and dealt with.

I see our voices being held down to the benefit those waging foreign wars at the expense of our hopes for something better. Shit, in their eyes we're already tapped out. The elite have already succeeded in promoting thought suppression among Americans. Especially us Americans living within this huge gap economists like to call "The Middle Class."

Hell, dey need to fukkk with some people who already got more money, not us workers who always be asking for a handout. Damn!!!

Learned Helplessness on Hyde Street

2007-11-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

Been away for a while, but got a lot of new ideas, photos, vids... I’m working on new things for this blog, I promise ;-_)

Upon returning to SF Tenderloin, I walk straight up Hyde from McAllister. Right through United Nations Plaza. It's my wife, the legless woman, and me at the top of the escalator. The legless woman is sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a flannel shirt and sporting ratty blond hair. We make eye contact and acknowledge each other. I'm home.

I’m walking on Hyde, pass Golden Gate to Turk, where there are two separate pools of vomit not less than 100 feet from each other covering half the sidewalk. The pigeons are picking at the recently spewed upchuck and I'm trying to walk just a little bit faster to avoid the smell.

Between Golden Gate and Turk, walking North on Hyde Street, is where people shoot up. These junkies are sick and can't hold food down all the time. Have you ever seen a fat heroin addict?

I’m walking on to Turk, up to Eddy, where it’s a marketplace and transit corridor. The 19 Polk picks up in front of the local playground. Many people are either waiting to catch a bus to Hunters Point or sitting at the bus stop, unwashed and belligerently cussing within the range of young kids’ impressionable, "Friggin Ears!” (Simpsons reference!).

After Eddy all the way up to Geary, young Latinos are selling crack cocaine rocks to hardcore, long-term substance abusers. These young men make their money hustling on the corners, avoiding the police through whistling and shouting en Espanol. Recently the TL has experienced a migration of young African American families. These families also have young men who are competing with Latin immigrants for control of the street drug trafficking. This is obvious around Geary between Larkin and Polk.

Our neighborhood is crazy. And the kicker is that I can no longer understand how we, as residents of the city of SF, TL locals, can allow this to be happening while we're paying higher rents, higher taxes, and basically higher cost of living. HERE's THE LINK TO SUBSTANTIATE IT!

In San Francisco we’re dealing with less government effectiveness and a general decline in our standards of living. How are we allowing this to happen to us? Who's pulling the wool over our eyes? Have our detached ironies finally sedated us into a perpetual state of relativity where all we can and ever will care about is ourselves? Have our narcissistic, self-absorbed, social networking opportunities become infected with hype for our cultures newest consumer goods and individual fetishes? And do we willingly go along with this?

SF residents deserve better than what we're getting from our local leaders. When are we to expect the next generation of change makers?

Making Power Moves

2007-11-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

Or at least trying to.

Taking a new leadership role.

Working harder.

Letting go and moving on.

Holding myself accountable to decisions.

Not standing down to a challenge.

Asserting an attitude that improves society and individual thoughts.

Rejecting being greedy, and like M.C. Eiht (AKA Eiht Hype, CMWs) said, "Give to the nEEdy!"

And trying my damn hardest not to pontificate and go out like a pompous asshole to those around me. If there were a charm school that could teach me about these sorts of things so I can make San Francisco bourgeoise forget about my crooked teeth, my horrible posture, bad skin and the fact that I'm Mexican, I'm sure those around me in my line of work (Fundraising, Philanthropy, Government Contracts) would recommend that I enroll immediately.

But like Sagat said, FUNK DAT!!!

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

2007-11-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

The mysteries of lefthandedness - By Faye Flam

Because of me being left-handed, I'm more prone to schizophrenia, autism, a professor career, a musician life, an architect firm, feeling less healthy but more creative, straying more from the standard design, and even homosexuality.

!!!

If anything, I'm more prone to feeling alone and lost.

Perpetual Upkeep...

2007-10-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Is what it feels like maintaing a visible pressence on the web. I have a blog, a myspace, a friendster, a flicker, an Imeem...Seriously, it's a fucking joke how much I'm online.

It's actually a surprise that I don't have a palm/Iphone sort of device to stay even more connected. I have friends and co-workers who have these things, but I've never been of the mindset that I'd like all of this information so readily available. I want to be alone, and I do savor the solitude of being just a faceless body.

So, there's growing up and then there's reverting to youth. I'm going to type about it one day, real soon. Most likely in November.

Tolerance In San Francisco Streets

2007-10-09T10:57:00.001-07:00

Is it becoming a thing of the past? I would certainly hope so seeing how I can second any effort made by the city to clean up the literal crap in our downtown streets. With such a great opportunity to make this area metropolitan and diverse, we're left with a handful of elitists who are defending the rights of those too lazy to sneak into a hotel or restaurant bathroom to take a dump. It's disgusting.

Women have to navigate through these living speed-bumps and try not to look intimidated when they begin their catcalls and hoots. These fuckers need to go. Seriously, it's not right for our families living in the area.

Two Recent Tenderloin Shootings

2007-10-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

One on Larkin and Ellis.

And one right under my window (scroll down to "Central" from this link).

My neighborhood is becoming a joke. Crack heads are standing in the middle of the sidewalk hitting their pipes. Registered and unregistered sex offenders are gawking at young women, including infants, as they interact with each other walking down the streets. And gang violence is slowly seeping its way up from the clever veneer of the "up and coming, trendy" tenderloin area.

Tourists from all over descend into my neighborhood during the weekends. Hooting and hollering, screaming at the top of their lungs and generally acting a fool in my hood. These people intermix with the day to day addicts in my neighborhood. Trying to talk philosophy, telling them how much they love the homeless dude who just last night took a dump in between two parked cars.

These weekend warrior people don't live here, yet, San Francisco's government would much rather have them commute into the city b/c if they actually lived in the TL, they would see what a shit-hole this place really is to people who live here.

We, the residents of the TL, who are without safe streets, who are overlooked when it comes to the fair distribution of the city's tax dollars, we sweep our own sidewalks, we water our own trees and we try to stand watch for the crime and degradation against our working class families. The ones who lock their business doors during business hours, the ones who look down when the belligerent customers refuse to pay $1.26 for that cup of coffee.

We are the people who want an improvement in our community and action taken to prevent shootings in the Tenderloin.

I don't blame you for the weather

2007-10-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I made for the Cervantes song, "I don't blame you for the weather".

Studio Sale

2007-09-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Gibson SG Special w/chrome pick up covers - $600 w/case
Click here for Harmony Central reviews.

Coleman 2 Burner Portable Grill - $50

Mixed Emotions

2007-08-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

As much as I dislike the current White House Administration, I can't help but feel a little bit of compassion for Alberto Gonzales. Here's the article about him stepping down from his current position as the US Attorney General. I mean, everyone in Washington has dirty fingers, and although his were most likely caked in mud, I can't help but think he was singled out because he's Latino. Hmmmm...now I understand how the supporters of San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew feel.

Traffic in Tahoe

2007-08-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

A little piece I made over the past couple of weekends:

Traffic in Tahoe

The Ugly Truth

2007-08-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

First there's this about an old skater getting hit in the street.

Then, you have this shooting in the Excelsior.

And finally, you have this string of hit-and-runs in the city.

Should we outlaw cars or people?

The Union of Iraq States

2007-08-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here's proof that the American way isn't for everyone.

AS I was waiting for the 19 Polk by the library, I was sitting on the ledges reading a book about the American River. All of a sudden I hear a slap on the glass of the bus stop. You've probably heard it before. Someone slaps the glass of a MUNI stop with their palms and it makes this certain sound specific of downtown San Francisco.

The slap I hear as my head’s in my book wasn't that loud, but you could certainly hear it. It’s audible.

I look up and notice a strung out bald white dude with some crusty ass black clothes on doing his "I'm bad as shit!" walk down Larking towards Market. He's screaming, "That's right mutherfucker, I don't fuck around. I don't mess around!"

Behind him, holding her face is this 40/50-year-old Asian lady. She's holding her left cheek and people are crowding around her asking if she's all right. She's more startled if anything. No bloody lip, but I'm sure that it still hurt.

A guy walks pass me and tell some random stranger getting up from my left side, "We should call the cops on that guy." But nobody does. I sure as hell don't. What's the point? I've called the cops during the night, when I see cop cars patrolling, and they're STILL not able to come; let alone answer the call.

But still, I should have done something. Anything.

So this is what San Francisco is coming to. Allowing fucked up addicts run around in the streets popping little old ladies for no reason? OR, is there a reverse racism when it comes to APIs in San Francisco from whites (this isn’t the first time I’ve seen an API specifically targeted for ridicule by a white person)?

I’m curious, if I write that, would I be considered as just str8 racist? What a fucked up situation, eh?

More Screaming Outside

2007-08-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

Now that there's more light on the corner, more people are emboldened to stand there and go about their "normal" lives. When I say normal, and put it in "quotation marks", I'm talking about regular people, not drug addicts, but people who have clean clothes. People who have combed their hair and look like they're planning on sleeping in a warm bed.

What a weird change from last year.

But alas, there still are the local meth-heads. All screaming to themselves like they're the only ones in the street. Talking about, "I don't caaaarrre bitch! You don't knnooooooow what's it's like to be without money. No bitch! You dooooon't know how it is. Bitch! Bitch! bitch! You shut the fuck up! I'm not talking to you!"

God, what a fucking neighborhood.

Oakland Blackouts

2007-08-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, APT ON POST needs to look across the bay for social inequalities

First, there's the murder of local Oakland News Journalist, Chauncey Bailey.

Then, there's the high number of shootings over the weekend (7 total reported).

Next, there was the rotting garbage in front of people's houses.

Moreover, there’s a Presidential candidate stumping through.

And finally, there’s the Oakland Mayor's personal interest in these abovementioned affairs.

Sometimes, the bitches and moans of our little 7 x 7 piece of shit land seem almost inconsequential in comparison.

BONUS POINTS:

For those of you who care, here's the reference of this entry title on IMEEM.com. Damn, I'm stuck in the past. I'm seriously going to delete all my music and start fresh. A clean slate. Nothing before today. From this moment on, I pledge to make it a priority to seek down new forms of music. Whether it be old classics or new progressive tunes, I am committing to find sounds it all their natural forms and explore what can be done musically both live and recorded. The only memory I'll have of my former music collection will be what's saved on my Ipod Nano (which can hold 1,000 songs). That should be a fair amount of music to carry me until I hit 40.

The TL Gets Shafted...Again

2007-08-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Recently the SF Bay Guardian released their very own best of the bay. This has been around for a while, I think almost thirty years, but this year they kinda messed up and gave the best local zine to an online publication.

The definition of a zine, according to freedictionary.com:

Zine, n., An inexpensively produced, self-published, underground publication

Hmmm...seems like the guardian is more concerned with promoting the same old stuff rather than giving some exposure to an upcoming local zine, the Loin's Mouth. Is this TL discrimination yet again? Not sure, so you be the judge.

Here's the thread on the SF Guardian's webpage.

A Call to Recall Supervisor Chris Daly?

2007-07-20T09:56:00.001-07:00

First, here's the incident with Supervisors Daly and Dufty going at it.

Second, here's what the San Francisco Chronicle is saying about the incident. A not too subtle call for a recall?

This is silly.

Daly's an idiot, we all know this. As he "speaks truth to power" (yes, one of his own quotes), people shoot up, sleep, and shit on the sidewalks of his district. Our absent supervisor is too caught up with decisions at the 100 foot level to get down and dirty with the details of maintaining a livable SF neighborhood. (Unless that neighborhood is the Mission, then it's full on hands on work.)

We as residents of the TL get the royal shaft while progressives make life oh so wonderful for a handful of minority activists living in the city. I challenge: What about the minorities living in the city who are not attending the one hundredth meeting of the “so and so” neighborhood coalition? Are we to be marginalized and kept quiet?

I would hope that our elected officials remember that those who are living day to day on these streets really don’t care about codes of conduct, inflammatory remarks about each other, or grandstanding about being “for the people.” We want to see change, real social change, where we're offered an equitable slice of the San Francisco/Bay Area affluence.

A move for a recall, as what the SF Chronicle is suggesting, is a waste of time and energy. Leave that up to the politicians. A better use of resources, IMHO, would be to take the money that would be used for a petition drive and invest it into communitiy resources including new and safer parks for young families, street outreach workers to get people off the sidewalk and into residential treatment programs, and community engagement events where residents can go outside, meet their neighbors and work collaboratively to make the area safer.

For Loins Mouth

2007-07-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

River of Rust at the Hotel Utah

2007-07-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

A Pathetic Attempt at an Apology

2007-07-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for my absence. Can you ever find it within yourself to forgive me? It's just, there's too much going on in the world right now. I mean, there's this about the eroding Republican support for the War in Iraq. You can also have this about fatal shootings in the Bayview. Or you even have Jesse Jackson coming to town and speaking about stopping the violence. So hopefully you can accept this apology and we can move on. Is that too easy? Do you need more?

TL Shootings

2007-06-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

While my corner got a new tree this weekend, here's what unfortunately happened seven blocks down from where I live.

Can we please stop shooting people in the Tenderloin?

Too many DUIs on the road

2007-05-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

People, this is why you should NOT drive while under the influence.

The Situation in Kirkut

2007-05-24T18:04:00.001-07:00

Congress approves war funding. The war goes on. Young soldiers are being pulled from Iraqi rivers.

More locally, people are being arrested on Post and Hyde. The paramedics are called in as well to help calm the situation since the perpetrator is so obviously on drugs that they need some extra assistance. I think the area has seen an influx of crack cocaine. There are more people smoking crack rocks in this area these days, and I don't know if it's because of the summer, but the streets are obviously hot. Where are all these drugs coming from? Who's bringing them in the area? And more importantly, who's making money from all this? Is it the petty drug dealers, who carry wads of cash and pace up and down the streets, interacting with strung out addicts? Are they the ones profitering from this dirty, low class habit?

Smoking crack is the worse. And, it knows no boundaries, and most definitely, it is not at all discriminating. Any class, race, gender, ethnicity can get caught up in the shit. With it being readily available 24/7 in the TL neighborhood, there is no incentive that makes people want to get off it. Moreover, there is no draw that pulls them away from this lifestyle. Being hooked on your next high, your next fix, is something I don't plan on endorsing, ever. I'm of the thinking that with the number of social services out there in San Francisco, you should at least be able to maintain some level of social decorum. When you're stealing people's purses, tagging up the neighborhood, and getting arrested for deficating in the streets, you need to pull it together and make a change. That life isn't going to get you anywhere.

Happy Birthday to me

2007-05-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

I don’t think people really understand what it means when you’re a skateboarder. There’s this condescending tone in people’s voices when they learn about your “hobby.” But being a skateboarder is so much more than just riding a deck with four wheels, it’s also about taking the bad with the good. That awesome feeling of rolling away from a trick is often quieted by those really hard falls that lay you out and immobilize you for weeks on end. I understand the rationale in a speedy recovery though. The thinking that dictates you just walk it off and try to get back to your everyday routine like nothing ever happened. However, I’ve recently learned that in doing so, you run the risk of chronic pain in the joint you initially injured. According to Kaiser doctors and interns, you need to let it heal before you get back to 100% normal.

This happened to me recently. That’s why I have time to type and re-organize myself and my thoughts.

8Past at The Red Devil Lounge

2007-05-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

8Past

Schralp or Die

2007-05-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

Here's some recent footy from the last couple months. Kinda weak, kinda cool, kinda cost me a trip to the hospital with a Grade 2 Sprained Ankle. I'll have some photos of that, as well as a host of other body injuries including cuts, scrapes, and scratches, shortly. Until then, here's some more information about the War In Iraq.

More Crack, More of the Same

2007-05-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

8pm, corner of Post and Hyde, same mutherfuckers smoking crack and yelling.

Seriously, is this what the TL is suppossed to look like? Can't one of our elected officials DO SOMETHING to clean up this shit? This rhetoric about affordable housing, care not cash, community courts, etc. isn't helping anything. The TL is getting worse, more people are lighting up and more people are tweaking out. It's a sad state of affairs, and I feel helpless to it all.

Tenderloin March Against Violence

2007-05-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

This march took place yesterday. I had to work so I couldn't attend. I hope the city realizes the TL is struggling with social issues on a daily basis. When women can't walk down Hyde Street without being sexually violated (e.g., guys flashing, making lewd comments, etc.), we need to acknowledge and realistically address the quality-of-life crimes that are so prevalent in District 6.

Fujiko Chan at the Hotel Utah

2007-05-03T18:47:00.001-07:00

Cervantes at the Bottom of the Hill

2007-04-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Company Car

A Man Pushed to His Breaking Point

2007-04-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

And I hope the families of the victims of this random and senseless act of violence will learn how to cope with the loss of their loved ones. I wish them all the best.

Reoccurring Friendships

2007-04-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of days, I’ve been having this on again off again friendship with this guy who sleeps in front of my house on the sidewalk. I think I’ve seen this dude at least four or five times, and he’s always sleeping right in front of my house. Supposedly, he knows somebody in the building next to mine, but I think he may have actually lived there. My theory is that he was recently evicted when the new owners came in and started to work on the building.

Each time I see this guy, I puff my chest out, start to talk aggressively, and generally turn on my “being an asshole.” I say things like, “Hey, you need to be up out of here, we can’t have this in front of my house.” Or even, “Ay dude, look at me, look at me, did you hear what I said?” It’s very confrontational, and I don’t like doing it. It makes me feel like an adult. But seriously, it’s like dealing with children sometimes in the tenderloin.

There’s this Chris Rock skit where he’s talking about racism and he mentions how he’s prejudice to everyone, even people of his own race. He talks about when people act "ignnnit,” here’s the youtube clip, it’s super funny.

So in the routine, he talks about people congratulating themselves on accomplishing things they’re already supposed to be doing. Things like taking care of your kids, not being thrown in jail, etc. It’s a funny stand up routine for sure, and I think it would apply perfectly to behavior in District 6.

People piss in the street, get high in the street, and generally tear up the street. I sometimes can’t believe how the City of San Francisco can tolerate such nastiness in its streets. It’s like, c’mon dude, get it together. I can’t think of a better way to say it than that. Reasoning, logic, and any sense of social decorum have been thrown out the SRO window; these social norms have given way to lottery tickets, street sales, and massage parlors.

Our neighborhood doesn’t need to be like this.

I recently attended a meeting of the Community Leadership Alliance at the TL police department on Eddy and Jones. These guys have been doing this work for a while, but I think they’re being re-energized with the work of the Safety Network.

Are community watch and/or community organizing groups the right thing for the Tenderloin? Let me know what you think, I’m dying for some feedback.

Incidentally, one thing at the meeting that was interesting to hear was people’s thoughts about the current condition of the TL versus what the tenderloin looked like eight to ten years ago. I often forget that people sleeping on sidewalks is the least of the police officer’s worries when they have to deal with guns, drugs and straight up thug shit in the loin. The police chief I talked to at the station after the meeting told me, “Yeah, I get a lot of responses and complaints from your area, but by the time my guys get up there they’re dealing with something else.” That definitely shut me up and put things into perspective.

El Estado Dorado

2007-04-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

The Golden State.

The Language of the "Ghetto"

2007-04-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Not that this is surprising that Newt Gingrich would say this, but I'm surprised that more people aren't fucking up in arms about this sentiment. Which, BTW, I'm sure received massive applause at the luncheon for the National Federation of Republican Women.

Our "multi-cultural" society is going to hell. Latinos are the new scapegoats for the nation's economic problems, African American are being racially profiled, arrested, and dying in prisons, and Asians are being pigeonholed into nice and neat fetishized stereotypes.

I'm in a rage over all these prejudices and more.

Charley Charles

2007-04-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

I used to work with this guy at Mel's Drive-In. Ugh, scary.

Shorja is "like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime"

2007-04-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah right. And I'm a monkey's uncle.

Here's something about McCain's publicity stunt in Iraq. Do you think he's going to get the nomination?

How Immigrants Affect California Employment and Wages

2007-03-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

Guess what? There is no effect!!! Jeez, now stop hating on immigrants.

Here's the link the report.

From the report, "There is no evidence that the influx of immigrants over the past four decades has worsened the employment opportunities of natives with similar education and experience."

It's a Public Street

2007-03-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, as I looked down from my window, I saw this black guy messing with his crack pipe. He was fumbling with his rocks and was looking out for when he could smoke it. As he took a puff, I yelled out to him, "Hey, don't be doing that, don't be smoking crack around here!" And he said, "Man, I'm in the street, I'm in the street." As if that made him exempt from any sense of moral decorum. He stormed away, and I immediately felt paranoid that some crack heads would start throwing eggs or rocks at my window.

But nothing happened. I guess I felt a bit empowered, and I went about my Saturday. A little less sensitized. I'm starting to turn on this neighborhood.

The Bruises at the Red Devil Lounge

2007-03-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

AGENT ORANGE!!!

Killin’em with Content

2007-03-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

HERE’s SOMETHING about District 6.

Also, here’s Apt On Post in the SF Weekly.

Here are some photos of Cast of Thousands at the Bottom of the Hill.

Finally, here’s a story about the "Tree Vandals of Sunday Night."

If you walk around District 6 you see a ton of graffiti on the walls, the parked vans, the abandoned windows, and even graffiti on the trees. Yes, trees. Taggers hit the hardest to reach places in their efforts to be known and recognized for their name. Which is cool, I’m all for it, get your, but don’t you think you should draw the line when it comes to spray painting on trees?

If you walk up Post Street on the right hand side, just pass Hyde and before you get to Leavenworth, there this row of old trees - you can tell they’re old b/c they’re tall, they’re health, and they actually block the sun, making the sidewalk shaded for the down and out during the day. These trees, like most other trees in the Tenderloin, are constantly at-risk of being vandalized. In this specific case, the case of the old trees lining the right side of Post Street, these trees were spray painted on by some dude trying to get up!

What?!?

I mean, seriously, do you even live in this area? And if you're an academy of art student who's living off daddy's dime, then you're really going to get it if I catch you hating on our hood.

So anyways, tough guy posturing aside, a similar thing happened to a tree on my corner recently, here’s the photo.

I fell asleep Sunday night, looking outside to the tree from my window and noticing nothing wrong. I wake up the next morning, and there are three big branches lying on the ground. Somebody walked by in the middle of the night and ripped the tree limb from limb. No joke. Why anyone would want to this is beyond me. Unless…

Was this a premeditated act on my person? Was there an individual, or possibly a group of individuals, who watched me, stalked my actions, and planned their attack to my property? Is it like that Kurt Cobain Lyric, “Just because you’re paranoid, don’t mean they’re not after you.”

I’m a target for the aggression of my neighbors, and there’s nobody here to save me.

A Misuse of Public Trust

2007-03-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

As if any of us didn't think this was already happening.

What were the Fang's thinking?

2007-02-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

The name of this Opinion Piece was called, "I Hate Blacks" Jeez guys, you really weren't thinking when you signed off on this one, huh?

Although it's easy to get pissed and start preaching about tolerance, etc., etc., I'll leave that for the activists who have a lot of fight still in them. Don't worry, I'll be there marching/protesting with you, but I will not be the one drafting the slogans. I'm just too damn busy these days.

Instead, I'll take the cop out and align my position with David Lee:

"David Lee of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee said Eng's statement echoes the feelings of some Asian Americans. He said that rather than condemning the paper, black and Asian people should participate in a town hall-style meeting to address tension he said exists between the two communities."

"There is a segment that feels the way Eng does, but the sentiment is underground and not brought to the surface," Lee said. "If you don't have a discussion, then I think it allows these types of views to fester and turn into something much more negative. Rather than refute and bury this, we should be calling for a community dialogue to address this."

Although, this approach is sooooo San Franciscan. "Community dialogue" = yelling match at a town hall meeting where people feel empowered for an hour, and then get right back to the status quo. Nothing changes, and nothing is changing. We're growing stale, and you want to leave me right now, don't you?

Quite A Commotion

2007-02-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

"She looks like she's having an issue right now," says the frat OC guy with gel in his hair.

Yeah, she's 25 with two kids. Two little boys, who probably are spoiled rotten. Well, I hope not; maybe they're good kids, who knows?

I'm predicting a new RAWK Brittney in 2007. Tattoos, wife beaters, and spikes.

Yellow Fever

2007-02-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

By VICKIE CHANG from the OC Weekly, very appropriate for SF.

Other Developments

2007-02-15T17:22:00.000-08:00

Originally printed on CNN.com (here's the original link), re-copied here with out permission. Sorry, but this is just completely shocking to me. Here goes:

• Coalition forces rescued an Iraqi hostage near Baghdad during raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq and a network of insurgent bombers, the U.S. military said Thursday. Troops detained four men hiding near the building where the hostage was found, and one of the men had the hostage's cell phone, the military said. After the Wednesday raid on the southern outskirts of Baghdad, the hostage told troops that he had been tied up with a hood over his head for three days. He was taken to a medical facility for examination.

- Holy shit, hostages still in Iraq even after the May 2003 "mission accomplished" speech/photo op. Did anyone ever find the killers of Daniel Pearle? Or the other american contractors held hostage by "insurgents" (read: Sunnis)?

• Five children, ranging in age from 4 to 8, were killed Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded while they played with the device left in a park near Tikrit, north of Baghdad, police said.

- I would imagine this is what the current administration would list as "collateral damage" then? Unaccounted for IEDs are what our troops have to deal with? This, on top of being shot at from above? No. This isn't right. If we're going to send our citizens in harms way, we need to take full advantage of their skills and not boggle them down with lower-level responsibilities. Leave this to people who are closest to the young kids, and while you're at it, you can give these people real money to purchase food.

• A woman and two men were killed Thursday when a roadside bomb detonated near their car in Samarra, northwest of Baghdad, police said.

- Continued violence in the captial of Iraq. Is this anywhere near the fortified Green Zone?

• Insurgents launched four 82-mm mortar rounds into the village of Mzerat, north of Baghdad, killing two residents and wounding eight others, police said.

- Can we finally acknowledge this is a civil war going on and do what's necessary to restore sanity in the lives of Iraq's families?

• A car bomb exploded Thursday in an outdoor market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City, killing at least three people and wounding 25 others, police said. Earlier Thursday, two car bombs simultaneously detonated in southern Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 20 more, police said. One of the blasts came near a highway, while the second bomb exploded near a security checkpoint. Also, a bomb in a parked car exploded in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Jihad, wounding two Iraqi soldiers, police said.

- What's troubling about this last bullet point is that it's delivered in such a rapid fire way that the information within seems to get lost in reading it. I mean, there is a bunch of crazy shit going on with the number of people being killed in such a short period of time. The trauma inherent in these deaths is almost too much to imagine. We're so removed from this, it's sad.

• A U.S. Marine assigned to Multi-National Force-West was killed during combat Wednesday in Anbar province, the U.S. military said Thursday. The number of U.S. military personnel killed in the war stands at 3,123. Seven Department of Defense civilians also have died.

- More deaths of our soliders. Let's get them home as soon as possible. We can't wait until 4,000 deaths to do something. The time to act is now.

Sorry Neil Hamburger

2007-02-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

But seriously, is this not the best thing that could have happened to the Republican Party in 2008?

Can I get a rim-shot?!?

BOOM!

She Wants Revenge at the Grand

2007-02-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

Cervantes at the Red Devil Lounge

2007-02-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

A Dedication

2007-02-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

To Anna Nicole Smith, seriously, the last few years of your life will go down in pop culture history. Your rich husband dies, you get sued by his family, you win the money in court, only to have your son die at a young age, and then you overdose in a hotel room. I wish you peace wherever you are. (Another Blond Starlet Dead in a Hotel)

I love watching 5pm re-runs of the Brady Bunch on raining weekdays. Chilling before tonight's show, taking stock, and just waiting for another performance. It's almost business-like, a robot selling and promoting a product. BUT, you should still come tonight. C'mon, it'll be fun.

Love Like Fire at the Edinburgh Castle

2007-02-06T21:25:00.001-08:00

Friends

A Reprimand

2007-02-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Well, someone just told me that I'm not updating aptonpost.com that often. I thought I have been. I mean, do you really want to read more about our mayor during damage control? More stories about drug deals? A tale about the hookers on the corner?

Naw.

What's awesome these days is the Dr. Phil House and the next issue of the Loin's Mouth. You guys should all check out their issue release party at 222 Hyde Street next Tuesday, February 20th, 6 - 11pm. I hear there's a live band playing as well; so all you people in bands have something to bitch about while you nurse your beers. Also, a DJ, for all you ex-ravers; so, I guess, that makes you, like, trance lovers now, or something.

Does that count for an update?

The Democrat Party

2007-02-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

Bush apologizing (I think) to the "democrat" party. I don't get it.

The State of the Democratic Party

2007-02-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

Where we have San Francisco’s Mayor philandering with someone else's wife?

Where our choices for President are being way over-hyped?

And where Blind Date is still the best thing on television during the day?

With February 1st arriving today, I've been spending my lunch hours walking around little Saigon in the TL. The building next to mine is for sale, that same woman is still sitting on the wall at Geary and Larkin against Thai House. People are still walking down the street yelling at themselves and scaring each other. Cheap new sandwich shops are opening up all over the place. One off them, Lee's Sandwiches, is one of the better ones.

Lee’s is brand new and has a bright, almost modern, interior. When you go in there you feel like you’re entering a newer place, rather than those other dingy locations that are small and dirty on the front sidewalks. Not that I don’t like those places, it’s just that when someone opens up a nice shop in the area, I would push for keeping it clean and free of any drama.

With kids having to spend their free afterschool time inside, scared of going out and finding their friends, we in TL should do our best to help improve our neighborhood and not tolerate straight up nastiness on our streets. Having people wander around the area half-clothed with their hands out asking for money very loudly isn’t helping anyone. It is not helping families, businesses, and it’s most definitely not helping those who are asking for money.

Let’s spend our city’s tax dollars on social re-investments. These re-investments will help small business people create their own ways of living and will develop a sense ownership in neighborhood residents. If we are to be a true community, a healthy city, which mostly rents, we should create real opportunities for residents to own a piece of where they live. Only through giving people meaningful ways to change and create their neighborhoods around them, where they can use their imaginations and intellects, will we achieve a truly utopian society.

However, as we continue to be sedated with ratings, statistics, and violence, we don’t want to get involved. This is the State of the Democratic Party. We are a morally corrupt lot, but we acknowledge this moral corruption and look the other way when this shit happens.

Ghost to Atom at the Edinburgh Castle

2007-01-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

Hello Morning

This is Long Overdue

2007-01-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

But, RIP James Brown, the hardest working man in showbiz, Mr. Dynamite himself, the man who brought you one of the best albums ever made, Live at the Apollo, 1962. "All aboard! All aboard!! Night Train!" This shit hits so hard.

The CER played a show last Friday in Oakland. About 8 people were there, and we didn't go on until 1:10am, and could only play a 20-minute set. Is this what playing music is all about? Unorganized weekend events that run long and blow people out time-wise? I want the CER shows to play like James Brown shows: energetic, lively, and memorable.

What's the point of investing time into something that winds up feeling like shit? Not just for the band, but also for the audience. I would hope that things get better for the local music scene. We got a show coming up at the red devil lounge in Feb. That one promises to be a little better b/c of the venue (better location), promoters (more professional), and the choice of bands (fans who share similar tastes).

But to be honest, I'm not sure if their fans would feel James Brown that much. Who knows? They might and I may be way off. I've been so off on so many things recently that I wouldn't be surprised if I am once again misjudging a group of people. As people often misjudge me, you ask? Who knows?

On MLK day, here's what I'm going to do.

I suggest that you should get up and do something as well. "It's not a day off, it's a day on". Remember his legacy and help us fight prejudice everywhere. When us workers finally stand up for our rights, and unite, only then, can we truly enact meaningful social change. We need to organize our people and wake up. Let's take to the streets and say something about what's going on our world. The fact that people are being shot in our local streets, and young teenagers are having to skip school to attend funerals, doesn't show any progress from 1963, when MLK made his "I have a dream" speech.

Please get up and do something to help your community.

Company Car at Cafe Du Nord

2007-01-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Solare

Montage Mania

2007-01-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

It’s been another year past and we’re still here. No terrorist attacks, no natural disasters, and no major social or political upheavals. We’re all doing nicely in our little apartment units and packed watering holes. Cultural celebrities abound and we try to emulate who we want the world to perceive us as through our purchases and brand loyalties.

In this game of who you know and how well you know them, there is no room for individual thoughts. Imaginations, inventions, and introspections are not part of our everyday routines. Rather, we’re programmed to wake up at certain times, spend XX number of hours at work, and then return home for a good night’s sleep. For a majority of us workers - proletariats - this process repeats ad nauseam until death.

IMHO, this is our American Capitalist Condition in 2007. And in this Condition, our capitalist corporate culture, we are all just repeating ourselves and failing to take a stand on anything we believe in, because ironically, we don’t believe in anything anymore.

Moving on, the TL was the same this New Year’s Eve: drunks, limos, broken bottles, cops, etc. However, I would say that there were more out-of-towners in the city this year than those of previous years. I’m assuming that the allure of the hip TL neighborhood is drawing more curious thrill seekers. And that’s good for my property value. ☺

TL POLICE BLOTTER

Here’s yet another tag found on my front door done between the hours of 10pm Wednesday night, 12/27/06, and 9am Thursday morning, 12/28/06.

If you know who this dude is, don’t report him, instead tell him to STOP TAGGING on my shit! I don’t like cleaning it up and while I’d be open to maybe leaving something there that looks artistic, when you hit me up with some indecipherable shit like this, which incidentally looks like a 1st graders scrawl, I’m going to paint over it.

PLUS, did you know that the City of San Francisco will fine me for any visible graffiti on my property? So you know what this means, right? I’m not about to be the one who has to pay out of MY pocket for your hobby. Hells naw! You trippin fo real if you think I’m going to spend my cash on you. (Regular readers will know how tight I am with money and will understand my utter distain for parting with hard earned dollars.)

Here’s the kicker, after I painted my door on Friday afternoon, 12/29/06, I look downstairs today, and find another tag on it. Jesus Christ man. Can’t the city use some of its tax dollars to help curb this shit? I mean, at least get it off my property so I don’t have to do the work?

I’d much rather skate, play music and drink a gallon of coffee.

NEXT TIME: THE STORY OF THE BAREFOOTED HOMELESS WOMEN WHO WAS SLEEPING ON MY FRONT DOOR COVERED IN AN OLD WET SMELLY BLANKET WHO WOULDN’T MOVE EVEN WHEN I GOT UP IN HER FACE AND WHO STARTED TO SNIFFLE WHEN I KICKED HER IN THE RAIN LAST WEEK, WHICH IN TURN, MADE ME FEEL LIKE A TOTAL SHIT FOR WANTING TO CLEAN UP MY NEIGHBORHOOD

Ant's Dance

2006-12-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a little something from my holiday trip to San Diego. Do you think I'm strange?

DUI Arrests

2006-12-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

Let's all hope young Nicole gets better. BTW, just where is her "adopted father" Lionel Richie? For shame.

This is kind of a fun read about the whole thing.

The Myths of War

2006-12-17T15:59:00.000-08:00

Six brutal truths about Iraq, by William E. Odom. Please read this.

Quick Pop Culture

2006-12-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

What's the deal with commercials that feature cars falling from the sky?

Also, what's the deal with Tony Hawk and Omar Salazar (pro sk8rs) endorsing Jeep vehicles?

A Recent BMW Ad

2006-12-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

BMW has poached this clip from YouTube about a kid and his NINTENDO 64! I just posted a comment on the message board about it, and now I'm blogging about it. Will anyone respond to my thoughts? I wonder if my attempt at intelligent dialogue in an on-line forum is the right way to enact social change.

Aren't most people on-line these days anyways? I'm sure that's what BMW was hoping for with taking parts of a YouTube.com clip and splicing in pictures of their latest car models; incidentally, the latest cars are the one's with all the "bells and whistles."

Aren't most American's trying to do away with the "bells and whistles" sales pitch? The term itself conjures up feelings of deceit and trickery. I'm thinking of a packed car lot with a hoard of lemons. On these hoopties, the mileages are high, and the roofs are rusted through, near the windows. I'm sure that if there ever were another rainfall, the centers of the cars would warp inwards with a deep concave and eventually buck under the pressures of the heavy waters.

I'm walking through this car lot with my parents, looking up as they bicker amongst themselves. My dad is wearing a brown suit that fits him a little too loose in the shoulders. My mom is wearing a beige or white dress, low heels and a beehive hairdo. I'm a bowl-headed kid with a two-colored velvet sweater. I don't really know what's going on, but I can't wait to get home for Christmas to open my presents.

IMHO, this is the demographic BMW is targeting, and it hasn't changed since the 70s.

Was Melrose Cheated?

2006-12-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

I don't think so. I'm glad about how ANTM Season 7 turned out. For the record, I wanted Jaeda to win. Ah well. Here are clips from the finale.

Stating the Obvious

2006-12-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

Well, after months of research, the commission has found that Iraq is not working out as planned. Here's the full report for those of you who enjoy non-fiction.

Kinda stating the obvious, don't you think? However, don't label me a bitter "I told you so"; rather, let's talk rationally about how to fix the situation caused by an elite group of white men looking to further line their pockets. Can we please do that? No, you just want to hurl insults at me? Ok then, I guess that's fine too.

LocaMotion

2006-12-03T13:51:00.000-08:00

Dang, Little Loca is exposed on Fox News. Don't make fun of the Mexicans holmes.

"You better sleep in the tub bitch, it's a drive-by."

Pura Vida!

2006-11-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

Translated = "Pure Life!"

"That was uncalled for"

2006-11-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

Kramer, what a dumbass!

Out of Step with the City

2006-11-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

I’ve been out of touch with AptOnPost for a while. BUT, I’ve been traveling so I hope you can understand.

The election came and went. David Binder called the results, “proof that we (San Franciscans) live in a progressive city.”

Sigh.

See, I’m all for impeaching the president. I’m all for affordable housing. I’m even for taxing the rich to give to the poor. No big revelations here, right? Pretty basic stuff. But I’m tired of walking outside my condo in District 6 and seeing people hustling drugs, peeing on the sidewalk, and all strung out yelling at themselves (all this with kids walking by!). We seriously don’t need that shit and this is not an acceptable status quo.

So to do something about this, I thought I’d vote for this year’s challenger and not the incumbent. Well, according to the incumbent and his team, my vote was a tool for the Republican Party. Huh? According to the incumbent, I was pro-big business and not progressive enough. Ok, I guess?

Well, I do support giving underserved youth and their families jobs that pay a living wage (pro big-business?) and not catering to the demands of special interest groups that move the political debate from violence in the community to dog parks in the neighborhood (not progressive enough?).

I call bullshit on all this rhetoric and say a sarcastic thank you to the winners for alienating me ala GOP tactics (e.g., “Why do you hate America so much?”).

My point is that I, once again, sided with the losing candidates, initiatives, and general consensus of San Francisco. I am officially out of step with this city, even though I’m a liberal democrat, minority, and anti-war. Jeez, what does a guy have to do to make a change? Conform?

Absentee Voting

2006-11-03T16:27:00.000-08:00

That's what I did today. Went to city hall, stood in line, and voted. huh. yeah. well then. .... .... ..... ...... I guess I'm, um, free then? right. right! yes, that's what it is...

I really think politicians should reach out more to the voters. I saw people voting today who would never meet any of their elected officials. Through no fault of our own, but through the fault of, IMHO, those seeking public office. How could people running for office ever claim to be, "for the people?"

I read some quality journalism recently in the SF Bay Guardian, of all unlikely places, and had to scratch my porcupined chin. The writer was talking about politics and how political decisions are made. "Follow the money," was the advice from the author of the article, and how true that was. (Ghod, I'm such a hack.)

More recently, the influx of big dollars from corporate interests (e.g., business developers, construction companies, unions - yes, unions too!) have played major factors and laid heavy hands in this year's ballot initiatives. I found myself voting for things that wanted me to allocate more money to construction and limit taxes on large businesses (e.g., cigarette tax, gas tax, etc.).

Wow. Is this what our democracy has become? Can we one day vote on the conditions of our least fortunate who struggle daily, while our culture's social elitists reap the fruits of our labor? I wonder, what would it be a referrendum on? A group of people? A single "evil" person ala OSBL, GWB, S.Hussien? What's pushed down our thoughts and stunted our growth as a society?

It's sedation, and it's making us give up the fight. It's this apathy that's allowing us to casually ignore racist comments. It's this apathy that's allowing our youth to kill each other within our own borders. And it's this apathy that's allowing a handful of upper-class whiteys from a generation gone by to send our citizens outside of American soil to kill foreigners - all in efforts to maintain their status quos and financial windfalls. fuck that, dude.

But remember to vote democratic, because they're "for the people."

A Truant Policy

2006-10-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

What went wrong in Iraq, by By Ed O'Connell. A very GOOD read.

More Portland Fotos

2006-10-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

More friends

A Weekend of Walking Pt. II

2006-10-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, a lot of walking and a lot of sore legs. I've been traveling and unable to update Apt on Post; however, I most definitely haven’t been short of ideas. Alas, the time has swallowed me up and I’m struggling to find a moment to sit down and put thoughts to paper. But really, isn’t it more like, “typing on plastic keys?” (This is probably a more accurate description of my life.)

Although, I would love for it to be a more romantic activity, something that conjures up thoughts of burning candles and me toiling over an old desk, deep in thought, while I’m furrowing my brow and stroking my temple. I would really be tortured over the demented stories and narratives that would be running through my mind. Are you still with me?

That’s how I feel now as I see headlines of more US and Iraq casualties from this war. I’ve been doing my best to keep tabs on the updates and whatnot, but it’s difficult for me given the gluttony of the US Economy and how I find myself a willing victim of it. I’m sleeping at the wheel, just like most of my friends, and I’m letting a group of businessmen make major decisions about my life.

While we as a society are enjoying our collective economic statuses on weekends, and sometimes during the week for the uber-cool of our populace, we willingly turn a BLIND EYE to the global realities of our generation. We’re so sedated with information that we’re selective with our time. How fortunate that we’re able to live in a modern age where television tells us what we need to know.

We luckily have hundreds of channels and advertisements. Thank modern science that we don’t have to expend too much effort looking for a “niche culture” that fits within our fantasized ideas of who we are. But, none of us know what we’re doing or what’s really happening around us. Our perceptions are floating around in the air and they never confirm their existences. We’re meant to believe that we’re really alive because we feel though our bodies – these hosts that hold our imaginations and dreams.

My body is but a vessel to my passion for equality and equity for our society’s most challenged constituents.

With that said, here are a few quotes that I found in a recent book acquisition from Borders New Jersey (sorry for ridiculous language and choice of words here, but I need to somehow transition into a more casual voice, yaddamien?!?).

These quotes relate to the Iraq War and IMHO, conclusively incriminate a majority of our current Bush Administration key decision makers. We need to ACT NOW! So you, please vote, advocate, recycle, stop fighting and killing…do something for the greater good, please! I’m confident that we can overcome this contemporary morass we find ourselves in. Let’s grab some O2 in this murky swamp that pulls us in with its shiny allure and enticing little toys.

Quotes taken from Hell in a Handbasket by Tom Tomorrow, Penguin Group, 2006, pg. 107.

“I believe demolishing Hussein’s military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk.” – Defense Policy Board Member, Ken Adelman, 2/13/02.

Ed. Note: While he was right in predicting that “demolishing Hussein’s military power” being a “cakewalk” (Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction!), how wrong Adelman was when stating his thoughts in “liberating Iraq”. I ask you, who are we liberating Iraq from, and to what end for whom? Is this liberation so sectarian violence can run rampant through the streets of Baghdad? If so, then yeah, good job on that one.

“Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.” – Vice President Dick Cheney, 8/26/02.

“It is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks, I doubt six months.” – Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 2/7/03.

“My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.” – Vice President Dick Cheney, 3/16/03. (This one is unfathomable!)

“We know where (the weapons) are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, north and south somewhat.” – Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 3/30/03.

“Major combat operations have ended.” – President George W. Bush, 5/1/03.