The release of Julian Assange after years in a UK jail made me remember an op-ed by Bob Garfield on the subject. Garfield’s key point is that Assange is not a journalist but a broker of stolen goods and that the press is under attack but not in this case. His op-ed is nuanced in a way you rarely see in this absolutist political world. I think that Assange, as the quote above illustrates, became a bit of a media darling with his premature gray hair, his smooth, steady Australian accent and his nobel Robin Hood persona. In this case the loot was classified documents.
Indeed, the U.S government has many dirty secrets and does all kinds of immoral things. It has been this way from the beginning. Shining the light on the malfeasance is a small step in the right direction but I doubt it will truly change behaviors. It is better to simply follow the money. Much of that is in plan view. Journalists are simply too scared to bite the few hands that feed them.
The thing is press freedom, defined under U.S. Law and best practices, doesn’t permit libel or extortion or, by the way, burglary–digital or otherwise. With journalistic freedom, comes journalistic responsibility. And Assange, explicitly, disclaims that–at least where other people are concerned. While he preaches that all information, no matter its sources or dangers, is better public than secret, his own organization is shrouded in secrecy.
– Bob Garfield
Bob Garfield was fired from On The Media and NPR. He evidently had a short fuse and would yell at people. I do miss his opines.
4742 Mission Street is now a five-story building. It has been under construction for a few years. It looks to be a mix of residential and first-floor retail but the end result is still a bit of a mystery. The windows are in. The paint has dried. Who knows? It may be fenced-off for months or years as that is what can happen out here in the hinterlands of San Francisco.
The location was once El Tapatio, a dance hall with live bands. A few years back I wrote about this historic location in a piece – El Tapatio Closed for Good – Another Live Music Venue in SF Gone.
I heard about What Kind of Bird Can’t Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection by Dorsey Nunn while listening to an interview of Dorsey on Sheer Intelligence. It is an inspiring read and for anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area a window into maybe a world on the other side of the tracks – in this case, the other side of the freeway.
Dorsey is a remarkable person who really is an inspiration, He proves that it is never too late to have hope and change your ways and create a better world. The book is a memoir that outlines the realities of growing up as a Black person in East Palo Alto, California on the other side of Interstate 101 from the world of Menlo Park and Silicon Valley. In his honest, direct and often profane voice, he paints the picture of what it was like to grow up in community that has been disenfranchised and marginalized. The red-lining. The drugs. The violence. The community. The poverty. The police. His complicated family and their struggles as well. The book then is a journey of a lengthy prison sentence, much in San Quentin and how through learning to read and finding various mentors he educated himself and then went on to advocate for incarcerate people’s rights, eventually making for the passage of some very significant legislation .
The book recalls all of Dorsey’s ups and downs. His drug problems and addictions. The people who ultimately believed in him. The various non-profits organizations that Dorsey started to help “people in cages.” The tone and pace of the book is consistent and the linear nature of the book makes it so you can’t wait to read the next chapter. Its a page-turner and will make you understand the Prison Industrial Complex a little bit better the next time you drive by one of the many prisons along Interstate 5.
While I was reading What Kind of Bird Can’t Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection I picked up by chance at the local Goodwill the album Good Old Boys by Randy Newman . It is an amazing album with poignant song writing. The title track Rednecks is basically the soundtrack to Dorsey Nunn’s book. While Dorsey’s book never uses the “N” word, Rednecks has a chorus that ends with Keeping the Niggers Down.
Yes he’s free to be put in a cage in Harlem in New York City.
And he’s free to be put in a cage on the South Side of Chicago and the West-Side.
And he’s free to be put in a cage in Hough in Cleveland.
And he’s free to be put in a cage in East St. Louis.
And he’s free to be put in a cage in Fillmore in San Francisco.
And he’s free to be put in a cage Roxbury in Boston.
They’re gathering ’em up from miles all around. Keepin’ the Niggers down. Rednecks by Randy Newman
While it is evidently one of Randy’s favorite songs, he rarely perform it live. It surely makes a lot of people uncomfortable and definitely not Disney-approved but it could be a song in the movie version of What Kind of Bird Can’t Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection. Buy the book. Let me know if you agree.
San Francisco Carnaval 2024 took place on May 24 and 25. The weather on Saturday was a bit cold and cloudy but on Sunday the sun came out for the parade. It was a glorious day. Below are some photos I took of the parade and the fun on Harrison Street. The Radio Valencia Rumberos were amazing. Grand Marshall Rigoberta Menchú was on a float. A very brave and interesting person. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1992/tum/biographical/
These novels will give way, by and by, to diaries or autobiographies – captivating books, if only a man knew how to choose among what he calls his experiences that which is really his experience, and how to record truth truly.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“My takeaway is human adaptability to almost anything is just like much more remarkably strong than we realize, and you can get used to anything as the new normal, good or bad, pretty fast,” Altman said. “Over the last couple of years, I’ve learned that lesson many times.” Sam Altman – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he can no longer eat in public in S.F.
Sam Altman is 39 years old and seems to be a darling of the tech industry. He SMS messages usually in all lowercase, was a key player in OpenAI, a new artificial intelligence software company, and seems to use the word “like” in random places.
If Sam were to write a book, it would certainly be a good idea to send it through the AI rewriter. Perhaps it would say instead: “My takeaway is human adaptability to almost anything is just like much more remarkably strongis stronger than we realize, and you can quickly get used to anything, good or bad as the new normal. , good or bad,pretty fast ,”
I am convinced that a lot of the new tools, while remarkable, are making humans less intelligent and dependent. Most people today surely have a hard time writing longhand with a pen. Spelling is an ancient skill. Along comes credit card transactions with predetermined tips and people no longer have to do basic math. Long-form math. Forget about it.
So Sam Altman just realized that being worth billions of dollars and trying to live a life of anonymity is impossible. Probably a good idea to “like” add that algorithm into that “like” ChatGPT thing.
The Quarterly Report: A brief synopsis of the news in San Francisco over the last three months. You are now reading “Slow News That Doesn’t Break” – the exotic internet.
Sporting News
Baseball season has begun. Recently a new lovely park opened just south of the ballpark with tables, places to sit and a lovely statue of Willie McCovey. I was riding my bike when I saw the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The ceremony seemed a bit subdued – like someone wary of a new luxury car getting its first scratch. The Giants are 17 and 21 as of this report. I will check back in after the All-Star Break. That is my usual mode of operation.
McCovey Cove
Weather
The season changed to spring sometime in mid-April. The 20 knot northwest winds started up and you just knew that the fog was next. The temperature of the water at Ocean Beach went from 58 degrees Fahrenheit to 52. Now in early May we are experiencing some exceptionally warm spring weather with temperatures in the 80s and wind blowing from the east. The real news these days is definitely the weather report. Pay attention, as at anytime the temperature can drop twenty degrees and the fog machine will start up.
Politics
The 2024 mayoral race in San Francisco is going to be one wild ride. There is a lot of outside money coming in with front groups like GrowSF and TogetherSF supporting various well-off candidates. What is different this time around is that there are many candidates that San Francisco Chronicle calls “moderates” running while there are just two “progressive” candidates, Ahsha Safai and Aaron Peskin. Good grief! The labels that these newspapers bestow on politicians is beyond silly. Daniel Lurie and Mark Farrell are not moderates. In another era, in another town, they would simply be the usual pro-business Republicans.
Aaron Peskin, with his years of knowledge of the city, his neighborhood credibility, excellent speaking skills and a new-found sobriety may be a tough candidate to beat. I traveled down to Portsmouth Square and heard Aaron Peskin’s mayoral announcement speech. It was extremely refreshing to hear a politician speak in complete sentences and have something meaningful to say.
Aaron Peskin among supporters
I will be a Mayor who loves this city, and doesn’t beat up on it for political gain. A Mayor who works for everyday San Franciscans and their neighborhoods, not just the well-to-do and the well-connected. And I will be a hands-on Mayor, using my 25 years of governmental know-how to once again make San Francisco the city that knows how. Aaron Peskin – Candidacy Announcement – April 6, 2024 Mission Local
Let me be clear. I support arresting fentanyl dealers and holding them accountable. But arresting drug users, and doing nothing more, is a cynical and dangerous policy that results in more overdoses, and not more treatment for addiction. Aaron Peskin – Candidacy Announcement – April 6, 2024 Mission Local
After the event I was able to talk to former San Francisco mayor Art Agnos who supports Peskin. He said that being mayor was the hardest job he has ever done. He said that when the 1989 Lomo Prieta earthquake hit during the World Series he was at the game and then whisked off to a command center where he found out the head of emergency services had just had had a heart attack. For the next few days he was winging it. I thanked him for the great job he did as mayor during those unpredictable times. He was an awesome mayor.
National Politics
When Donald Trump was asked about whether he raped Jean Carroll he said that it was not possible as she was not his “type.” Isn’t it interesting that he has not said the same thing about Stormy Daniels. Perhaps Stormy is his type?
Road Repairs, Parking Tickets, Do Not Parks Signs and Other Treacherous Endeavors
Sooner or later you figure out the plan. Starting at Geneva and Mission and heading north they are repaving the bus stops with concrete. It is about time. What is odd is that they pretty much pour the concrete and then slop asphalt in between the new and the old. Thanks for the effort.
Valencia Bike Lanes and the Sunny Side of the Street
Merchants and many people are still angry about the center bike lane on Valencia. The parking has changed with the installation of individual digital meters. What is strange is that in many places half of the block is for only drop-off parking. This is silly, not practical and a gift to companies like Uber and Lyft.
Valencia Street center bike lane
Parklets, Microclimates and Where the Sun Does Shine
Not much to report. The parklet situation has stabilized but the red-tape for merchants is often too much and they remove their parklets. This is a topic that a city mayor Breed could have a lot of impact and instead it ends up highlighting the incompetence of city government.
“Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
The quote above is by Robert Louis Stevenson. I ran into it while reading a very interesting book, Cuba on The Verge. The beauty of the quote above is that it is timeless and universal – devoid of politics.
I do not know who wrote the Saturday Night Live skit above, but it is very funny. It was probably a team of writers. But nobody knows.
I have always wondered why comedians today do not make more use of historical figures, especially the “founding fathers.” Humor can then merge with irony in a way that reaches a wider audience. It is like slow news, perhaps “slow humor,” where the vantage is long, and the costumes essential. You do not cringe. Instead everyone simply laughs as the truths are often of the everyday, non-political, small world. It is humor that is self-evident.
A while back I had the idea of a skit where Benjamin Franklin uses a time-machine that he had invented but did not tell anyone about as the plans were lost in a fire. Ben travels to the United States in our current era and then to a drawing room where seated are Jefferson, Washington, Adams and probably others. Someone’s wife. Perhaps a black enslaved person or mistress.
Hand on his knee, Franklin would calmly explain what he saw – explain what he had observed in the twenty-first century America on his time-travel. The majority of the content would be the others commenting and asking questions. These comments would be based on history and their actual writings, personalities and known beliefs. The possibilities are endless. It would shine a light on how originalism is an absurd concept. The world changes, but things also stay the same as in the ending line, “where all Black men are free,” to which Washington ignores like a Florida history book. Evidently, we still have much work to do with our weights and measurements. Equality on many fronts is still but a dream.
NOW THE FUN STUFF! FOURTH GRADE WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS
Weights
16 ounces in a pound. 2000 pounds is a ton There is no word for 1000 pounds
Liquids
Liters and milliliters are used for soda, wine and alcohol
Gallons, pints and quarts are used for milk and paint.
There are 3.78541 liters in a gallon (but nobody knows).
1 liter = 33.814 Fl oz
Distances
Inches, feet, yards and miles
12 inches to a foot. 3 feet to a yard,
5028 feet to a mile
1760 yards to a mile (but nobody knows).
Sports
Meters are used in unpopular sports like track and swimming. (Also springboard diving, but no one asked.)
In football, where the field is 100 yards long, an extra-point after the touchdown is worth 1 point. A field goal is worth 3. A touchdown is worth 6. A safety is worth 2.
Temperature
The great nation of the United States of America measures temperature in Fahrenheit. You spell Fahrenheit F-a-h-r-e-n-h-e-i-t.
Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Celsius.
To convert temperatures in degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply by 1.8 (or 9/5) and add 32
For example
10 C = 50 F
20 C = 68 F
30 C = 86 F
40 C = 104 F
You can also, multiply Celsius by 2 and add 30 to get an approximation.
CODA
Mel Brooks used recent political history and satire in The Producers. He did it very daringly in “Springtime for Hitler” which is over the top. It combines Broadway showtunes and dance numbers in a Busby Berkeley style with the Third Reich. It is absurd and you laugh because of this absurdity. Oddly, it was a premonition for things to come.
Another amazing use of history and satire in humor is Monty Python’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail..
Let us know of other routines that have taken this tack. So far, nobody knows.
Most musicians are much more eclectic than their fans. If he had nothing else to do, Presley sang gospel, as did Jerry Lee Louis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash, three other Sam Philips discoveries. (A recording of the four of them jamming in a studio in 1956 was discovered and released several years after Presley’s death.) Muddy Waters sang “Red Sails in the Sunset.” Robert Johnson sang “Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby.” James Brown liked Sinatra and disliked the blues. Leadbelly was a Gene Autry fan. Chuck Berry’s “Maybellee” was a cover of a country and western song called “Ida Red,” recorded in 1938 by a white band, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Race had a lot to do with the music business in the United States. It had much less to do with the music.” Louis Menand – The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War – 2021
Ideas about the quote above. April 5, 2024
Menand is attempting to show that musicians have diverse tastes in music. Many fans do too. James Brown probably did not dislike the blues. He was the blues. He probably did not like the blues when it is played poorly. A more, and better quote is one credited to Louis Armstrong.
“There is two kinds of music, the good, and the bad. I play the good kind.” Louis Armstrong
Coleman Hawkins, the iconic tenor saxaphonist of the post World War II era loved to listen to Classical Symphonies and operas on his new stereo. Lot’s of people did.
The redeeming point of Menand’s quote is that musicians often gravitate to all kinds of music. In that way race does not matter.
A news story that get very little coverage is the Klamath River dam removal project. In January 2024 the last dam was “removed” and the river started flowing unimpeded for the first time in over 100 years. Of course, change of this nature (no pun intended) is difficult for many parties involved. When dams are removed you end up with “mud-flats” and the entire ecosystem has to readjust to the new river.
