Gay Pride Parade
Friday, June 22nd, 2007Don’t forget, this weekend in San Francisco!
Archive for June, 2007
Gavin Newsom, Cocaine, Chris Daly, City Hall Comedy
Thursday, June 21st, 2007This is why I love San Francisco politics. From Joe Alioto and George Moscone to DiFi and Frank Jordan to Willie Brown and Gavin Newsom.
This is also why people become so blase about voting, our political system, and the lack of good candidates.
The latest was supervisor Chris Daly publicly accusing mayor Gavin Newsom of using cocaine, and the mayor blasting back in denial.
I like Gavin because he seems like a common sense guy, one who tries to do the right thing even if it pisses people off. I am also fairly certain he has aspirations for higher office, possibly governor or the senate, as Arnold is done in a few years and the tag-team of Boxer and Feinstein is not getting any younger.
My rhetorical question is, why would anyone in their right mind enter the political arena when true or not, an opponent can make an accusation and right away your character is questioned. Did Gavin roll up a Benjamin and do some lines? Lots of people have over the years, and I will bet, a lot of people nowin City Hall. If it was 20 years ago in college would that really matter how he does his job today?
Chris Daly is loved and hated in The City. He is an advocate for affordable housing, which is a good cause. However, when he and his cohorts make it nearly impossible to build in town, Economics 101 comes into play: supply and demand. Who is to blame a homeowner from taking $800,000 for a home he paid $80,000 for 30 years ago and heading to Truckee to live in comfort?!
Pet Peeve: I would love for teachers to be able to live in the same city they work, but on a measly paycheck, few can afford anything more than a one-bedroom rental.
My solution: The City, and in particular, the School Board owns quite a bit of land. One lot in particular comes to mind, at a school I once attended, Cabrillo. Located on 24th and 25th avenues between Balboa and Cabrillo, the school was closed a couple of years back. The land is nearly 1/2 city block in size.
City Hall, please read this: Use your own land and build a Teacher Colony of townhouses and condominiums, and let your most valued employees become homeowners. You can sell half of the units for market rate to cover your construction costs, and look at the cut-rate units as an investment in the future of the children.
So there you have it…/font>
June Is Gay Pride Month..
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007It has been a while since I have had a chance to drop everyone a note, as I have been overseas, traveling in Taiwan and Vietnam. Outside of losing a few pounds due to the lack of greasy cheeseburgers and burritos stuffed with guacamole and sour cream, the trip was fun!
As most of you know, in 2000, President Clinton declared June to be Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, and all across the country and all over the globe, cities and communities are holding festivals and parades.
San Francisco’s parade is celebrating its 37th anniversary this coming weekend, June 24th, with local TV station KRON showing the festivities live! Showing my age, I can remember seeing Sylvester, yes, THAT Sylvester in full regalia, many years ago waving as he rode down Market Street.
Wherever you may find yourself this festival season, please do take a lot of pictures, and please do share by posting the shots in your photo album and checking out the shots of others!
Have a fantastic Tuesday!
Princess Diana, Prince Harry, Blood Test…
Sunday, June 10th, 2007So here I am in my hotel room, 8000 miles from home and I go to log into my AOL account, and there it is: Princess Diana had a love child, and the end result was Prince Harry.
It sure makes good copy, and it probably sold a large amount of tabloids…and it may be true…..except for the fact that Harry is not very attractive compared to his brother. Princess Diana was, in my opinion, one of the most attractive people to ever walk this earth. Grantedshe married Prince Charles, who probably wears blacksocks with his sneakers, and white socks with his black dress shoes, which is whythis is even more perplexing!
She is great looking; William looks like her - great. Charles is a buffoon, and Harry looks like he could be Chuck’s kid. My point is, if Diana was going to have an affair that early when she was in her prime hotness, common sense says she would do it with someone equally attractive, yes?
Mushroom Mardi Gras Follow-Up
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007OK, I know this is a week late, but I did promise to do a follow-up on the Morgan Hill Mushroom Festival and Mardi Gras.
I am not sure where the Mardi Gras part came from, as there was none of the decadence that is found in
New Orleans, and the food was far from Cajun.
That said, the food was quite good, and the size of the festival was just right. It was more home-spun, with mostly locals coming to the festival, though many people drove from Monterey, San Francisco and San Jose, as the freeway was busy in each direction.
I made a comparison to the Gilroy Garlic Festival in my last post, and while they are quite different in size and content, the premise is the same: Good food and a variety of vendors.
My issue with the Gilroy Garlic Festival is having to pay an admission fee to buy Street Fair-priced food. Sure there are garlic fries and garlic ice cream, but you have to park in a dusty field, walk a half-mile along a dusty trail to pay your way in, and then walk around as you bake, on another dusty field.
My preference is a street fair, but that is just me. Certainly there are 100,000 people who don’t agree with me and patronize the GGF - as the admission fees do benefit various charities. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for donations and charities and good causes - but I’ll send in my $10 and then head up to the Los Altos Art & Wine Festival or the Castro Street Fair. It’s pretty much the vendors who do the street fair circuit, moving their booth every weekend to another venue - and in many cases, the local restaurants serving up their goodies.
This is the street fair season, and a there is one just about every weekend if you are fortunate enough to live in a large and diverse metropolitan area.
San Francisco has everything from the yuppie Union Street Fair to the Fillmore Street Fair that has a jazz flavor; to the Haight Street Fair…which is somewhat self-explanatory! And of course we cannot forget the Folsom Street Fair, which if you’ve never attended, let’s just say it is not for the meek, prude or shy!
Summer is here, so let’s enjoy!
