Like this:
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But there are no complaints, unlike the recent situation in Virginia at the Fed Bank there.
Archive for the ‘events’ Category
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Flies Rainbow Flag for Gay Pride Month, 2012
Saturday, June 23rd, 2012Boy, That Kony is Everywhere: Solano County, USA
Monday, June 18th, 2012Where will the Lord’s Resistance Army turn up next?
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OMG, It’s Time for the 2012 Union Street Festival, Where It’s OK to be an Out Republican
Saturday, June 2nd, 2012I’ll tell you, San Francisco doesn’t have too many Republicans but they manage to come out in force during Steve Restivo’s annual Union Street Eco Urban (or is it Urban Eco?) Street Festival.
I can just about assure that the Mitt Romney people will on the scene and out in force, with the ironing boards and whatnot – like this guy:
All right now here’s your Union Street Festival Decision Tree:
“1. Is it sunny outside?
2. Can you stand crowds of overgrown sorority girls and fraternity boys?
3. Can you stand crowded beer gardens filled with the aforementioned?
If you answered yes to the above, proceed to the Union Street Festival. “
Dude, harsh!
But here’s the retort, from a party-lover, here’s the other side of this perfect dramaturgical dyad:
“SORRY FOR:
(1) PARTYING AND HAVING FUN AT A FESTIVAL
(2) NOT BEING A GRANDMA, and
(3) LIVING LIFE A LITTLE.”
So there you go.
The alcohol drinking used to be totally wide open, and then things got toned down a bit, and now I think even the walled-off beer “gardens” are gone. But you can always join one of the annual beer-fueled house parties, why not?
All right, let’s travel back to years past – here are some shots from yesteryear:
“Now here’s what’s funny when the so-called neighbors who own houses near traditional San Francisco street parties, like the Bay to Breakers Fun Run and the Union Street Festival. Inevitably, some of the actual neighbors, the people what live on the street itself, throw open their doors for anything-goes, beer-fueled house parties.
Anyway, today Andrea Koskey has the news about how there will be no more beer gardens at the Union Street Festival 2011, prompting this response from Serg of the Uptown Almanac:
“Yeah because rock and fucking roll brings the “wilder element.” Yeah I bet it must be nuts when your heehaw ass festival gets raided by tall-can wielding dave matthews fans. Ain’t no dancing in this town bitches! We want to sell shitty ass freeway artwork and braclets made out of old rocks and trash to senior citizens and sweater knots. Fucking dumb asses chewing on shitty grilled meat on a stick can’t hang out in beer gardens or do whatever dumb fucking bullshit it is that they do on their lame ass stoops on Union st. Union street can suck my balls, that shit has been herbfest from the gate, amatuer hour trainwreck can stay gone.”
O.K. then.
All right, get your house partay tickets or invites now. (It’ll be a piece of cake if you are popular/cute enough.)
The perils of post-adolescent Union Street Fest shotgunning. The front of this house faces Union:
That entire residence was filled to the brim with partiers in 2008. Ah, memories.
All right, see you there, or not.
Now enjoy a trip down Union Street Festival Memory Lane:
This thing is biiiig – it will take you a long time to wander about Union:
You know who proved popular was Tom Rigney, “electric violinist, Cajun fiddler, composer, graphic artist, and leader of the American roots music band, Tom Rigney and Flambeau.”
Best in Show – Candy Wrapper Handbags, something like this, as seen on Oprah
Micro cupcakes continue their dominance over the cuisine of the late aughts
Your streetfest four basic food groups are poultry (including turkey legs, they’re not just for renaissance festivals anymore), corn on the cob, couscous (not pictured) and garlic fries (not pictured).
2.5 star-rated Left at Albuquerque [sadly closed now, I think] offered crowd-pleasing beer towers to sidewalk diners:
Now they’re renting out A2B electric scooters to tourists. Do people really ride these things on the Golden Gate Bridge sidewalks at 20 per back and forth to Sausalito? People do. Anyway, Blazing Saddles bike rentals was offering test drives.
Suds on the Roof, but much less than in years past. I think a man partying outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a red cup of suds.
“Eco-Urban” Union Street featured a hell of a lot of gas powered Honda generators, but this year, not so much. Originally, I thought this distribution amplifier was a box full of car batteries, but now I’m at a loss at figuring out how this band got its power. If they had a generator, they hid it well.
What’s this?
It’s an overhead extention cord leading from a Union Street business to one of the food vendors in the middle of the street. Is that an extension cord being used as internal wiring? Cough electrical code cough.
Oh, there it is! One of at least two Hondas in operation today.
But at least all the amplified music won’t disturb this slumbering. ear-protected pooch.
It’s big, in’nt?
And here’s the lateral view from our most-polarizing street fest yesterday, the day with “fewer hooligans” drinking beer according to at least one Sunday attendee:
I’ll tell you, myself, I didn’t see too many “drunken douchebags.” Myself. Anyway, it’s nice to see Union busy for a change.
Lots of swag from our corporate overlords at this street faire:
All right, here are a few of the Repubs. Yes on B and Fix MUNI Now were a few of their issues:
And here are some more. These people were promoting Dana Walsh (no, not the character on 24 and not this cutie, oh no – the Republican Dana Walsh).
As usual, the West End was strictly for kids:
And dogs, of course:
Fandango let people take two free spins on their unfairly-weighted (aka loaded, gaffed, cogged, weighted, crooked, or gag) swag roulette wheel – that was a mistake. Scored a bumper sticker the first try and then a precious $50 credit code the second. Bonus.
And of course, another Mini MUNI Meltdown, right on sked:
Here’s This Year’s Official Bay to Breaker Press Release from the SFPD and Here’s How It’s Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
Friday, May 18th, 2012“More than ever, City officials and race organizers are serious about keeping the race free from alcohol abuse and nuisance behavior.”
SO THIS IS THE STANDARD LINE FROM SFGOV-APPROVED MEDIA FLACK DAVID PERRY, WHO GETS PAID TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO ATTEMPT TO PROMOTE WHATEVER IT IS THAT SFGOV WANTS PROMOTED. LIKE, “THERE’S NO HALLOWEEN IN THE CASTRO, WE’RE SERIOUS.” FOR THE BAY TO BREAKERS IT’S BASICALLY, “NO ALCOHOL, WE”RE SERIOUS.” AND THEN DAVID PERRY PUTS UP A RECYCLED, HALF-ASSED WEBSITE. (ALL HIS SITES LOOK THE SAME, COMPLETE WITH THE SEAL OF SAN FRANCISCO FOR COLOR OF AUTHORITY.)
NOW, WHAT DOES DAVID PERRY BILL THE CITY FOR THIS SERVICE? $10,000? $40,000? I HAVE NO IDEA. WHAT’S IT WORTH? ABOUT ZERO, THAT’S WHAT IT’S WORTH. BUT FOR SOME REASON, THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO JUST LOVES GIVING MONEY TO DAVID PERRY – TO KEEP HIS BUSINESS GOING, I GUESS.
ANYWAY, HERE’S THE WEBSITE THAT DAVID PERRY GETS PAID FOR WHETHER ANYBODY LOOKS AT IT OR NOT. NOTE THAT DAVID PERRY STEALS PHOTOGRAPHS TO DECORATE HIS WEBSITES. FOR EXAMPLE, FIND THE SHOT THAT LOOKS PROFESSIONAL AND THAT’LL BE THE ONE THAT DAVID PERRY REPEATEDLY USES “COMMERCIALLY.” DO YOU HAVE A LICENSE, DAVID PERRY? NO YOU DO NOT. IS THAT HOW YOU ROLL, DAVID PERRY? YES IT IS. MOVING ON…
“Bay to Breakers has always been a blast for everyone,” said San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr.
A BLAST? WOW, YOU’RE THE COOLEST POLICE CHIEF EVER, GREG SUHR!
“Last year was no different, with the singular exception of no alcohol allowed. In some years past, because alcohol was allowed, there was a negative impact of our neighborhoods and we don’t want to see that repeated. That said, we hope that everyone will come and have a great time again, absent any alcohol.”
UM, ARE YOU SAYING ALCOHOL WAS OFFICIALLY “ALLOWED” AT THE BAY TO BREAKERS TWO YEARS AGO? NO IT WAS NOT. SO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT GREG SUHR? YOU SEEM OUT OF TOUCH ON THIS ISSUE.
NOW, HERE’S WHAT THE SFPD WANTS YOU TO DO WITH YOUR ALCOHOL AT THE BAY TO BREAKERS. IT’S A DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL POLICY:
IT’S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. THE SFPD WANTS YOU TO DRINK YOUR ALCOHOL IN A NON-OBVIOUS WAY AT THE BAY TO BREAKERS. IF YOU WALK THE COURSE HOLDING A CAN OF BUD, THE SFPD MIGHT MAKE YOU POUR IT OUT, VERY POSSIBLY. BUT IF YOU TRANSFER YOUR STUFF TO ANOTHER CONTAINER AS THE SFPD WANTS YOU TO DO, THEN YOU’LL BE FINE.
THAT’S WHAT THEY MEAN WHEN THEY SAY, “NO ALCOHOL ALLOWED”
WHAT THE SFPD WANTS TO DO AT THE BAY TO BREAKERS, FUNDAMENTALLY, IS TO LOOK AT GIRLS, TALK TO GIRLS, AND OTHERWISE INTERACT WITH GIRLS:
ALL THE LIVE-LONG DAY
THUSLY:
BUT IF YOU CAUSE TROUBLE, BY GETTING IN A FIGHT OR SOMETHING, THEY’LL HAUL YOU OFF, SIMPLE AS THAT.
MOVING ON…
AH, HERE’S DAVID PERRY AGAIN, PROMOTING HIS USELESS WEBSITE. HELLO DAVID PERRY!
To emphasize the point, a special campaign website is active at www.baytobreakers100.com with public transit information, rules and regulations, video PSAs and links to social media sites stressing this year’s campaign.
WHAT WOULD THE WORLD DO WITHOUT YOUR USELESS EFFORTS?
NOW, THE CITY FAMILY IS DOING ITS BEST TO PROMOTE THE CANDIDACY OF “RUN ED RUN” PROMOTER CHRISTINA OLAGUE, WHO’S PROBABLY SAN FRANCISCO’S LEAST INTELLIGENT SUPERVISOR NOW THAT MICHELA ALIOTO-PIER IS GONE. CHRISTINA IS THE REPUBLICAN-APPROVED SAN FRANCISCO PROGRESSIVE, SO SHE’S ALLOWED TO MOUTH OFF ON HER PET ISSUES, BUT SHE CAN BE COUNTED ON TO SUPPORT REPUBLICAN-SUPPORTED MAYOR ED LEE WHEN HE WANTS HER TO SUPPORT HIM. YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COUNTS. ANYWAY, HERE SHE IS SAYING, “VOTE FOR ME, VOTE FOR ME,” IN SO MANY WORDS:
“This year, will be my first Bay to Breakers as Supervisor for District 5 and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it and share this great event with our community,” said District 5 Supervisor Christina Olague. “Coming off of the successes of last year, I am confident that this race will only continue to improve as it enters into its second century here in the Bay Area. Last year, we saw a very different Bay to Breakers than in year’s prior. The new rules implemented by race organizers clearly made a difference and the sold out race was said to be a success by city officials, neighborhoods, media, and the organizers themselves. We expect the same result of our participants this year.”
SO LAST YEAR’S RUNNING WAS A SUCCESS, OFFICIALLY? WELL THAT’S NEWS TO ME. CONSIDER LAST YEAR’S EVENT A BASELINE, IF YOU WANT. BUT LAST YEAR, IN FACT, EVERYBODY WAS DRINKING, THERE WERE HUGE HOUSE PARTIES ON FELL STREET, DPW’S STREET REOPENING SCHEDULE WAS A COMPLETE JOKE, MOST OF THE PARTICIPANTS DIDN’T REGISTER AND YADAYADAYADA. (AND I’LL NOTE THAT THIS YEAR’S RACE IS NOT A SELL-OUT, NOT EVEN CLOSE.)
ALL RIGHT, MAYBE THAT’S WHY PEOPLE DON’T TALK ABOUT THE BAY TO BREAKERS VERY MUCH ANYMORE, MAYBE PEOPLE THINK IT’S FINE THE WAY IT IS. OF COURSE TICKET SALES ARE WAY DOWN FROM LAST YEAR AND TICKET PRICES ARE UP AND THIS EVENT IS WAY SMALLER THAN IT WAS IN YEARS PAST, BUT THE CITY FAMILY IS COOL WITH THE B2B, APPARENTLY.
OK, WELL, IF OUR CITY FAMILY CAN DEAL WITH THE WAY THE BAY TO BREAKERS IS NOW, THEN SO CAN I.
ON WITH THE SHOW…
Bride, Groom Seem Unable to Find San Francisco City Hall, Even Though it Looms Overhead
Monday, May 14th, 2012Photo taken from, you guessed it, City Hall, the Highest Classical dome in the Western Hemisphere, I’m srlsy.
This B & G couple had just walked across the street away from the aforementioned City Hall:
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But I’m sure it all worked out.
Congratulations!
OMG the 13th annual How Weird Street Faire Runs Today from Noon to 8:00 PM at 2nd and Howard on SoMA!
Sunday, May 13th, 2012It’s time once again for How Weird, so dress appropriately and get on out there:
“San Francisco’s festival season begins
SUNDAY MAY 13th
from Noon to 8pm
Howard & 2nd Streets, Downtown San Francisco
The 13th annual How Weird Street Faire
13 music and performance stages
spread throughout 13 city blocks!”
Ah memories: Second Street in the SoMA:
Getting help with those hard-to-paint areas:
The largest boombox in the world. These go to twelve:
Open air hookah on Howard Street:
Kate O’Brien’s Irish Bar & Grill did land office business, what with the food, booze and sexy ladies.
Bay to Breakers 2012 is Shaping Up Horribly – People Just Aren’t Registering the Way They Used To – End of an Era?
Friday, May 11th, 2012[Get up-to-speed on years past right here.]
I still haven’t heard word one about the Bay to Breakers this year. It’s uncanny.
So let’s see, the BtoB people are freaking out now about all the unsold registrations they’re trying to unload. They just had a Cinco de Mayo sale (I’m seriously) and now they’re offering a Mother’s Day special for discount sub-$50 registration. But past participants aren’t biting because even at the high price of $48(!) YOU DON”T GET A T-SHIRT! That’s a new thing, I suppose, since those T’s were famous back in the day.
Anyway, if you want a runner’s bib you can buy one at a discount on craigslist (because these bibs aren’t worth all that much and they’re certainly not worth the $100 that some people have paid) or just make your own if you feel comfortable with that.
This mustard color should fit right in with the crowd:
Don’t click to expand and don’t print this out on your color inkjet printer, you know, in portrait mode.
But if you want to give money to Colorado “Christian Billionaire” Philip Anschutz, then go right ahead and register, I don’t care. He gives his money to support Prop 8 and fight the concept of evolution so if you want to help him with that, go right ahead and give him your money by registering for the B to B.
Anyway, it’s hard to believe that this historic race is coming up in nine days and yet nobody’s talking about it.
All right, let’s hear from former B2B fan Mike Scott and a bunch of other people.
“$48 for a timed race and $2 medal: no t-shirt! $10 more for them mailing the bib to us? No transit included with the registration! Seriously, at $58 for 50,000 people, I need to whack someone so I can run this thing. I appreciate it’s a logistics challenge, but it ain’t rocket science.”
“don’t forget the $6 processing fee!”
“I’m officially retiring from B@B after 25 years. To expensive and no longer fun anymore”
“Charging for the t-shirt! This is REALLY sick. I’ve run this race 17 times, and any number of other races. Charging EXTRA for the t-shirt when that’s the real medal any runner wants (aside from a good time)? This race is obviously being run by a non-runner with a financial agenda in mind, NOT with the reverance the Breakers has to the history of this city and to the runners who love it. IF I register this year, it will be my last time as a swan song memory. You folks are giving this race a bad name.
“I hope you’re paying attention to all the comments on your web site, Facebook and elsewhere regarding the charges and changes you people are making. You’re killing a great race which USED to be the biggest block party in the country, along with TAC sanction. Veterans like me and many others are just not into what you’re doing. Please don’t tell me about all the charges and costs. Somebody’s making bucks on this and it’s very, very sad. After running it 17 times, this, my 18th time, will, without doubt, be my last. I will be coming up from L.A. for is as I have for the last 5 runs. Before that, I lived in the Bay Area and ran it 12 years in a row. What you’re calling a party at the end is a joke, and charging for t-shirts is obscene. By the way, I’m not running with a cane, and do hope to finish under 1 hour. I run for time and all the joy that USED to come with the party afterwards in the polo fields. Music, vendors, a place to chill and spread out afterwards. You probably haven’t been around long enough to realize that even having a place to find your friends in the bleachers by alphabet made this sooo special. Now, it’s just another race put on by some big corporate sponsor who really could give a crap about what is was to the people running, and to the city of San Francisco. Shame on you.
“I miss the days when the SF Examiner was the race sponsor. Ever since Zazzle took over this race, they’ve diminished it. The entry fees are now OUTRAGEOUS and what race sponsor does NOT include a t-shirt in their fees? That’s just BS! They no longer allow floats and they’ve moved the starting time up to 7:00am which is BRUTAL for those of us, like me, down in the south bay. This has always been my favorite race of the year and sadly, they are really ruining it. Shame on you Zazzle! Some things are about tradition….not money!
“Oh you can get a t-shirt but you have to register at the “Plus” level with is $72 or the “Premium” level which is $89.50!! That doesn’t even include the additional fees for Muni to get you to or from the starting/finish line or the added fees to have your packet mailed to you or the processing fees. I’ve never had to pay this much for a 12k race entry in my life. It used to be $35 and you got a t-shirt. Last year they changed the starting time to 7:00am so we had to leave SJ by 5:00am which was ridiculous. They never used to have a limit on entries and now it’s cutoff at 50,000 (years ago there were more than 80,000 entries) and they eliminated a lot of traditional things (like the floats). That’s part of what made it so whacky and fun! All they care about now is $$. They’re just ruining the tradition of this race and robbing people blind now.
“I think it’s really sad what they’re doing to this 101 year old iconic race. My husband, my friend, & I have been doing this event for almost 30 years together. Now they’ve taken all of the fun, camaraderie, family togetherness (ie: no running strollers so no young families, no dogs so no companions, not to mention no T-shirt with our registration).. out of it.(I don’t care about no alcohol) Next they’ll say no walking, so no old fogies, like our gang 
Booooooooooo!
“That’s it. Priced me right out of this one. Between hotel, meals, transportation and no t-shirt with basic registration and starting at 7am again this is not fun. $57 times 50000 is $2.85million. Really?”
“I’ve been running this since 1996. I can’t believe that costs have gone up and only by paying even more one gets a tshirt. I’m going to have think about this. I just ran the Oakland Running Festival today. Well organized, friendly, low corporate footprint, and depending on which race you ran you got a specific shirt. You guys are losing the spirit in more ways than one.”
Bay to Breakers was going fine for almost a century, so what went wrong?
Consider This Your Invitation to the Bay to Breakers Street Party in the Panhandle on May 20th – It’s Free! – It’s Fun!
Thursday, April 26th, 2012Hey, it’s time to start organizing your trip to San Francisco for the Bay to Breakers street party on May 20th, 2012. Do you have your costume ready yet?
Here’s just one house on Fell Street, from last year:
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Here’s your official guide.
Now I’ll tell you, in years past, there were all kinds of controversies regarding this annual tradition. But so far in 2012 I haven’t heard word one in the media about this event. That’s a big green light for you and your friends to come on down this year. The thing that’s changed lately is that you can’t have parade floats to push around anymore. That’s it.
But whatever you do, don’t register. All that does is send money to some hard-core right winger Prop 8 supporting billionaire fitness nut who “bought” this event because he liked participating in it. No, just show up ready to par-TAY.
Oh, and remember, don’t let anybody in some T-shirt push you around. The only people who you need to listen to are in the SFPD, pretty much.
And me – I’ve lived on Fell Street for donkey’s years and I, personally, am inviting you and your cousins and your frat and/or sorority to come on down.
See you soon!
The Search for Joseph McHenry, a Former Marine from San Bruno – Today in Pacifica at Mori Point Near Sharp Park Golf Course
Saturday, March 24th, 2012Today’s search starts at 8:00 AM:
What: Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), along with his staff, will join a group of Marines that served with Joseph McHenry, a former Marine from San Bruno who has been missing since March 5, in a search on Saturday in Pacifica. On Wednesday, McHenry’s vehicle was found parked in a residential area near Sharp Park Golf Course near Mori Point. A backpack believed to be McHenry’s was found on a secluded beach near the golf course. Anyone with information should call San Bruno Police at 650-616-7100. Anyone who wants to participate in the search should arrive by 8:00 AM.
When: 8:00 A.M., Saturday, March 24, 2012
Where: Mori Point, Pacifica, California
“Former Marine Joseph McHenry went missing in Pacifica, CA. The search near Mori Point ended last week. When a group of Marine’s that had been stationed with him in Iraq (with the Amphibious Assault Battalion Bravo Company) found out they organized a grass roots effort of Marine’s on leave to get a search party. Marine’s as far away as NH, OK, TX, Camp Pendleton, CA and other states are paying their way and flying/driving in tomorrow (Friday 23 March) and will search the area from 1300 Friday through Monday Night. It started with a handful of Marine’s and now many of their brother’s in Arms that were not even stationed with Joe are so moved at the show of and dedication to brotherhood that they are joining the search. As of this morning there were over 20 Marines and the numbers are quickly rising. They take seriously the “Leave no Marine Behind”.
I live near Pacifica and am Active duty Coast Guard. My brother Richard Godfrey was stationed with Joe in Iraq they were both communication specialist. Joe was his mentor. My brother says “Retrieving wounded comrades from the field of fire is a Marine Corps tradition more sacred than life”. The Marine’s goal is to search the last known area to find McHenry regardless of his condition and if he is found in less than favorable circumstances at least he will get a proper funeral and there will be some closure for the people blessed to have him in their lives. When others learned of the efforts of this small group of Marine’s many people have volunteered to help however they could.
The original search team: Sgt Christopher Lawrence, a communication technician and Purple Heart recipient that lost his leg while deployed with McHenry. Sgt Kyle Parrish an Amphibious Assualtman and certified Combat Hunter. McHenry was his Radioman for the entire Iraq deployment in 2007. And (my Brother) Sgt Richard Godfrey a Communications Technician during the same deployment was mentored by McHenry.
A PayPal account has been established for anyone that would like to donate to the search efforts. kyleparrishusmc@yahoo.com any unused funds will go to a USMC related charity. All of these junior enlisted Marine’s have taken time off from work and paid their way here. They will be sleeping on floors and couches through Tuesday. I will have a house full of Marine’s tomorrow. The weather will be bad this weekend, but they plan on searching into the night and in the rain. If he can be found, i’m sure they will find him.
Joe had reported that he would be camping and rock climbing in the Pacifica Area. His car was found locked nearby and a backpack believed to be his was found on the beach. He was last seen March 2 at the 100 block of Quail Point Circle
San Bruno Police is leading the investigation and can be reached at (650) 616-7100.
How Many people know someone, much less 20 someone’s that would fly across the country to look for them if they were missing? At least i know i have a Marine for a brother!”
Rice University Student Steffi Hu Wins the 2012 Miss Chinatown USA Pageant – Images by Photographer David Yu
Monday, February 6th, 2012This is what you missed from the 2012 Miss Chinatown USA Pageant, which was ably recorded by famous bay area photographer David Yu Saturday night.
Here’s 2012 Queen Steffi Hu of Sugar Land, Texas - she’s in the Class of 2015 at Rice University:
And here’s everybody who was in the pageant – this thing was international news, of course:
Check out David’s ridiculously voluminous, contrasty, and colorful album right here on the Facebook
Bon courage, Queen Steffi Hu!
