PRN Recruiting Video

If you follow my other social media, this will be a re-run. Still, I am proud enough of this to broadcast it everywhere, so here it is!

Why I'm not aflutter over Twitter

I'm on board with all this social media. I am an active user on Facebook. I am active on Twitter. I have Twitterfox integrated into my Firefox browser so with one click + my up to 140 characters + the enter key and my little update goes up on Twitter and updates my Facebook status.

This all seems fine and good. I'm better at keeping in touch with friends. They comment on my status, I comment on their status and everyone seems happy. Perhaps broadcasting these feelings over the internet, Twitter and Facebook seems odd, but I have to confess something ...

I think Twitter is a fad with a short life span. I think that in two years, we'll be laughing, "hey, remember Twitter?!? Hahahaha!" That's not to say that there won't be a way to use these tweets for some other purpose or that Twitter won't tweak its offering to make the information more palatable by packaging it in some other way. I do understand that Twitter has created some really interesting, innovative and even important forums for exchanging information, but as it is now ...

Twitter is WAY to f***ing high maintenance. To rely on consistent, constant feedback from millions of people over the long term is just silly. It just won't happen.

Until we move on to something else, though, I'm here. Using social media on a daily basis. Informing you of my thoughts, activities and job openings. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on your perspective), as a Recruiter, it is in my best interest to intermingle my personal and business life and Twitter & Facebook give me the opportunity to recruit my friends and friends of friends. I'll be there when the next thing comes too after Twitter is no longer the Marketing Rage of the Moment.

My company

In case you ever wondered what my company does, here is a overview video. The recruiting video is coming soon. I'm so proud of it!

Films that Inspire

Part of me has always wanted to be a filmmaker.

In fact, many times, I've observed the world as it would appear in a film. Where would I frame the scene? What part of my view stands out from the rest of the scene? What objects seem to complement the scene or say something about the characters that I am observing? What passion or interest is in that moment? How would I change the moment to make a particular impact?

While reflecting on a few films that I've seen recently inspire me. While I've always been inspired to be a filmmaker to some degree, I have always felt that I am missing pieces to put it all together.

The closest I came was in my year as an Intern at a TV station in Lansing, Michigan where I was a broadcast journalist. In this, I'd go out on a story, do interviews, write the story and edit it together. That's pretty close to producing a little movie of my own. I've always pointed to the dynamics of that business as the stopping point. It required too much schmoozing, convincing, strong-arming and otherwise pushing people in different directions to both get my story and get to the next job and move up the ladder.

But, I digress. This post is about movies that inspire me to even think about this prospect. Let's go to the inspiring movie awards ...

Movie that most makes me think that you could actually make a great movie:
"Once" - Simple, minimal and touching. The subjects and the production seem so approachable. Yet the result is so effective.

Movie that makes me think that movie-making is completely unreachable:
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - Sure, I'm comparing my capabilities to the legend of Woody Allen, but the interwoven characters seem so complex and real. Add in the setting of Barcelona and the carefully chosen music and you really have something. It seems totally unattainable.

Movie that most inspires me to be a creative person:
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - Passion and creativity! Creativity and pain! Passion and pain! To me, this is a movie that asks, "are you living your life or are you going through the motions like you've been trained by parents and society.

So, duly inspired by these two films, I think, "What art might I pursue?" If not filmmaking, what other creative craft might I develop? I can't draw. Writing in more than this little short form? Not sure I have the patience for that. I don't have an answer. But, I certainly appreciate the inspiration these films provided, bottle it up and put it on a shelf that is enough in view that I do not forget it.

Twitter Twitter Twitter

I just got back from the ERE Expo, a recruiting conference that was in San Diego. Of the hot topics, recruiting via twitter was probably the hottest topic. However, I'm still warming to the idea.

In case you didn't know, I'm on Twitter. To follow me, just click the "Twitter Me" link to the right and click "follow." What you'll be missing by not following me are interesting tidbits on media, links to interesting articles, random observations of San Francisco, open jobs at my company and other things that occur to me.

I think I need a class in complex boolean strings. I tend to stare at the blank screen on search.twitter.com and think "hmm. What should I search for?" I am told that zappos.com recruits exclusively through Twitter. Are you out there zappos? Can you help me?

Is there anyone there?

tumbleweed, tumbling
Originally uploaded by JKönig

Hello?

Hello?

Is there anyone here?

This pretty much sums up the activity on the blog lately. Seriously, I'm thinking of getting back to it. Stay tuned. Not sure why I just typed that. There is no one here. Just tumbleweeds and whisping, empty winds.

Your year of yes by Mark Morford

Is this the year? Is this the one where it all comes together and it all begins to make some sort of strangely cohesive sense, where you really begin to sink into warm pools of calm awareness laced with laughter and love and really healthy teeth, where you finally accomplish or at least begin all those lingering and latent projects you've been craving for so long, like learning to bake orgasmic homemade bread or creating that hyperliterate travel/sex blog or meditating at dawn, all while reminding yourself every single day to tell everyone around you how beautiful and important and luminous they are, and how grateful you are every moment just to be here, sharing space with them, touching the planet, feeling it all, entirely clothing optional?

Or was that last year? And this one can be summed up in two little words: "More Ambien"?

They say 2008 was brutal and fraught, one of the worst on record, enervating and cruel in a thousand snarling ways despite the simply insane and transcendental glory that was the Obama victory. As Will Pitt over at the tough-minded, gray-skied Truthout.org put it, "The year 2008 began on a Tuesday. Matters went downhill swiftly from there." Not sure just how bleak and brutal it was? Don't worry. We have pictures.

They do not stop there. They go on to say 2009 will likely be even worse, more challenging and unnerving despite Obama's cavalry and despite the merciful exit of Bush, the long-overdue removal of that devastating toxin from the collective body. The fiscal collapse will keep right on collapsing. The downturn will keep right on downing. The media meltdown will keep on melting, despite how everyone still wants and even demands top-notch journalism and serious global reportage, but gosh, no one wants to pay for it.

So what do we make of it? How do you enter what threatens to be a very serrated, menacing year? With gritted teeth and fists clenched and head lowered, a ferocious bull ready to impale all comers? Or with breath deep and body relaxed and muscles sinewy, like a dancer able to move in any direction in an instant, shifting fluidly with the tide as opposed to stomping, often futilely, against it?

The wise ones say, well, what they've always said: You may very well have limited power to choose what comes at you, what happens in the world, what evils ugly men and women do. But you can always, always choose how to respond, how deeply you take it in, what sort of energy you hurl back out. How will you decide? How much power do you really have? Is it far more than you think?

Resolutions, as you already know, can be a bitch. It's the same old story: If and when we fail to keep them, guilt and regret can settle over the soul like a malicious, gray fog. Or, if you're a happy pragmatist, you perhaps detest them for their irrationality. "Hey," (you grumble), "if I want to change something in my life, I don't need some damn special day on the calendar. I just do it, no childish resolution necessary." Yes, you are a barrel of whimsy and fun.

Whatever. Me, I like making resolutions. Atypical ones, anyway. I like the ritual of it, the ceremonial aspect, the sense of pause and reflection. There is tremendous power in the collective sense of seasonal shift, of a world moving from the winter solstice, from what has decayed and fallen away toward making room for the fresh and the fertile. It also helps if you're a little drunk.

With that in mind, I hereby offer up my personal top 25 resolutions for 2009, in no particular order. See how well they resonate with yours, assuming you have any. If you don't, feel free to take some of mine, rearrange and modify at will. This is the wonderful thing about resolutions -- there are plenty to go around. There is an infinite supply. I can always make more. For some reason, I usually do.

1. Less browsing, more books
2. Remember that astonishing thing I totally forgot to tell you that one time
3. Try the macro setting
4. More yes, less no
5. Fuller comprehension of string theory, singularity, noosphere, vermouth
6. Fight the power
7. Empower the fight
8. Organize sock drawer in armoire of fears
9. Stop and smell the roses
10. Stop and smell the roses, and then lean in a little closer and actually lick one to see if it tastes like God or sex or marshmallow or merely pesticide and dirt
11. Realize I do not have to stop and smell the roses all the time because goddammit I have a metaphorical rose right there under my karmic nose at all times, and I merely need to acknowledge it and appreciate it now and then and maybe get a nice little bud vase to put it in. And hell, maybe I don't even like roses, and that's perfectly OK, roses are totally overrated and overexposed anyway, right? Like vitamin water? Like Scarlett Johannsen? Like that guy from Maroon 5? Now orchids. There's a flower for you. I mean, a good orchid makes your average rose look like a toothless hag at the prom, you know? Basically like comparing fine rum to a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck, am I right? No contest, really. Yes, gimme a suggestive, dangerous orchid any day over a pitiable, lumpy rose. But hang on -- can you really stop and smell the orchids? Do they even have much of a scent? Besides, orchids are pretty sexual, yonic, pornographic, even. Sort've makes you want to do more to them than merely smell them, you know what I mean? Wait, would they arrest you for that sort of thing? I bet they would. Bastards. Then again, as catchphrases go, I suppose "stop and hump the orchids" has a pretty lousy ring to it. Hideous bumper sticker, too. OK, so roses it is. They are sort've nice, to be honest. Beautiful, even. Sorry about what I said before. I was just being a shmuck. Hell, who doesn't love a nice bouquet of roses? No one, that's who.
12. Buck the trend
13. Eat the sky
14. F--k the Man
15. Really, really well
16. Imbibe the vibration
17. Seek the nothing
18. Carefully place a mint under the sleeping dragon's tongue
19. Understand subtler differences between enlightenment, consciousness, masturbation, scorpion pose and a superlative New Yorker article
20. Converse with gods
21. Flirt with trees
22. Touch toes. But not with hands
23. Succor sidelong langorous myths, askew and askance and awry
24. Write more while slightly drunk (see previous)
25. God is in the details. Don't sweat the details. Reconcile.

---

NOTE: Mark's column is on vacation as of January 9, while he traipses around India, seeking exotic spices and text messaging with gods. It will return near the end of the month.

Thoughts about this column? E-mail Mark.

Mark Morford's Notes & Errata column appears every Wednesday and Friday on SFGate.com. To get on the e-mail list for this column, please click here and remove one article of clothing. To get on Mark's personal (i.e.; non-Chronicle) mailing list (appearances, books, readings, blogs, yoga and more), please click here and remove two more.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

CLICK HERE FOR MY HOLIDAY GREETINGS!

One last, deep breath before the election

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

This election matters. To me, though, the last election mattered more and I was devastated by its result. Thankfully, we have better candidates on both sides of the table. I really believe that these two are much closer together ideologically than were Bush and Kerry.

Last time around, we were voting on whether or not to re-elect the worst President of our time. I was angry that people could not see that this man, George W. Bush, was tremendously bad for this country. And even further than that, he has been tremendously divisive, unethical and pathetically unintelligent. His presidency has been a disaster. Although I've been vindicated by his approval ratings, I am still angry with each and every person who voted for him in 2004.

John McCain doesn't horrify me. Although he seems to read from the same playbook as GWB, he strikes me as being trustworthy. Although he has been clear in his disagreements with Obama, he does not carry the same spite that W. carries. Truly, John McCain is a better presidential candidate than George W. Bush has ever been. He has a big weakness, though, and it can be expressed this way: "Oh my god, what if he dies in office?!?"

Barack Obama's ability to inspire people in a positive way should not be under-considered. We need a leader that unites the country, not divides it. Obama does not divide the country in a good guys-bad guys way that we've seen the last 8 years. Agree or disagree with his policies, he doesn't spit in the face of people who disagree with him. This is the kind of leader we need: sound ideas and policies, intelligent & articulate with the ability to inspire & unite.

PROPOSITION 8 in California

Next to the presidential election, Prop 8 in California has been the most hotly contested item on any ballot. I am of course against this Proposition and will be voting no.

I have a few thoughts on Prop 8:

1. The Sky Didn't Fall. We've had 16,000 same-sex marriages and the world didn't come to an end. There are 32,000 happier people because they've been allowed to marry. And it didn't cheapen the straight marriages one bit.

2. We're Healthier. In this short period of time, the mindset amongst gays has changed. Getting married and developing stable, long-term relationships have become goals -- and this is a good and healthy thing for us. We're normal people. We just want to settle down with someone. Please help us continue down this road.

3. Why do the supporters of Prop. 8 have to twist the facts? See this L.A. Times Op/Ed piece.

4. Even if Prop. 8 succeeds, the battle is far from over. I certainly hope that California rejects this proposal but if it doesn't, it will go back to the courts. We are right and our cause is just. It may take time, but more and more people will grow to understand this.

Kinko's is No More

I've already lamented Kinko's and closed that chapter in my own mind. It has been years since it was the company I worked for and grew with for 8 years. Now, though, according to the window of the Kinko's across the street, FedEx is phasing out the Kinko's name ... FedEx Office replaces FedEx Kinko's. Sigh. The last remnants of what was a special place for me is dying.

Tom & Kinko's: A History

The year was 1991. The place, East Lansing, Michigan. Having graduated Michigan State University with my degree in Economics, I still had no idea what I wanted to do. I had interviewed for a number of jobs but I hadn't interviewed for a single job that was the least bit compelling. There were 10 of us living in this house on Abbott and one of those housemates, Wendy, then Assistant Manager, suggested I join her working at the local Kinko's. They offered full time work with benefits, which was great for the crap economy in Michigan at the time, so I accepted a job as Copy Jock.

For the next two years, I ran the copy machines. Kinko's helped me move down to Detroit where I helped open the Dearborn Kinko's at Ford & Greenfield. I was becoming more serious about my career at the time and applied for a regional training job and got it. I officially recognize that move as the beginning of my human resources career.

There isn't much money in training, though, so I accepted a job as Assistant Manager at the Kinko's in Roseville, MI at Gratiot & Masonic. Mistake. It was modestly more money, a sh*tload more hours and was not a happy time for me. Wrong career direction, both philsophically and geographically. It was time to leave Detroit and see what else was out there.

At the urging of Kinko's co-worker Rae and Kinko's co-worker Mary, I decided on San Francisco. Thanks to Rae, I was already set up with a job and a place to live, so it was an easy choice. I helped train the staff for the soon-to-open "SF6" branch at 50 Fremont Street. I would work in various capacities for 2 years as the branch grew to one of the highest grossing Kinko's in the country. We rocked!

Then in 1997, I decided it was time to move on from Kinko's, so I thought. I decided to make my career firmly in human resources and went to my then boss Laura to tell her. By the time we were finished with that conversation, I had an interview for the soon-t0-be-launched Regional Recruiter program. Two weeks later, I had the job and my recruiting career had begun!

During 1997-98, I was Regional Recruiter for the South Bay/Silicon Valley region, followed by a year (99) recruiting new Regional Recruiters for the Central Division of Kinko's.

It was late 1999, when things started to change at Kinko's. The company had dissolved its complex partnership system and started positioning itself to go public. The following months made a huge impression on me. I never want to go through that process again, frankly. Despite my Economics education telling me that shareholders would know better about where the company was going than widely-varying Partners, this "preparing to go public/acting like a public company" routine sucked. The company went from proselytizing "long-term relationships with our customers" to quarterly profit goals and short-term pressures. Is that really a way to run a business successfully for the long term?

Needless to say, all this repositioning resulted in reorg after reorg and me being laid off. My timing was perfect. Kinko's was already changing for the worse.

From there, people I knew said that the company continued to move away from what had made it so special back in its 90s heydays. Plus, market changes seem to make its business model less viable and interesting -- a factor that ultimately derailed the company's aspirations to go public.

But these problems do not prevent me from benefiting from the experience. Kinko's gave me a career -- And gave me quite a number of friends that I still see regularly. I realize how sentimental this sounds but I am quite grateful. I could go on and on with Kinko's memories but I'll stop. FedEx certainly can't take any of it away from me.

It's a pretty lame TV season so far

Is it me or are you also bored with what the fall season has to offer? There are a few new series and a bunch of series that are returning from an extended vacation due to the writer's strike. In either case, I'm not much engaged by anything. I do have a few thoughts, though!

My favorite series so far this fall definitely is ...

FRINGE. It's a little bit Lost, a little bit Heroes and a little bit 24. The key to me liking it, though, is strong characters.

Gosh I sure am glad that I stuck with this one ...

MAD MEN. This show used to bore me. Now, it is my favorite show. It just takes a while to get to know the characters. I find myself thinking about this show often.

So 5 minutes ago ...

90210. After starting with a great 2-hour kickoff that was guilty fun, I am sorry to say that 90210 thoroughly sucks. I've never seen a show go from fresh to old & tired so quickly. It started out so good, too, with a mix of influences from the old show, a bit of The Hills, a bit of Clueless. What a waste.

Fading fast ...

HEROES. Most of my enthusiasm was lost in the extended break but I'm still giving Heroes a chance to win me back over. So far, I'm very much on the fence. I'm keeping the TiVo season pass for one more week.

My funniest half hour of the day is ...

CHELSEA LATELY. Mind-blowing television.

I'm giving it another try ...

PUSHING DAISIES. I've only seen this a few times. I marveled at its uniqueness and creativity but it didn't quite engage me. Tim Goodman's write-up in the Chronicle, though, has convinced me to give the show another try. A trial Season Pass on the TiVo.

The favorite that I'm going to be missing this season ...

CALIFORNICATION. I absolutely loved season one! I just can't justify $15/month for one television show. I'll catch it later on Netflix.

Disappointed that the advance reviews say this show sucks ...

KATH AND KIM. We need a great new comedy but the reviews are saying that this is not only not great but it is bad. I'll give it one episode.

What I've decided after writing this post ...

I WATCH TOO MUCH TELEVISION!

photo credit: Fringe tv series billboard poster from jasoninhollywood on Flickr

My blogging 4-year anniversary

Moo cards for blogging workshop
Originally uploaded by Mexicanwave

Keeping up a blog is time consuming and can be difficult. I've been inconsistent and the topics have kind of meandered over time. You can probably tell something of my state of mind by sifting through the posts of the last 4 years. Yes, I've been at it for 4 years.

I started blogging to keep in touch with friends that I was leaving behind in San Francisco when I moved to Columbus, Ohio. It wasn't too much later that I decided that I should continue to work on it not for the entertainment of others, but as my own expression. What kind of fool that is doing something for HIMSELF decides to blast it out for all the world to see? That's me, I guess. It's nice practice. I'm a better writer and I get to use my research and analytical skills in a way that I truly enjoy. I do really get something out of it.

Don't get me wrong, I am truly honored if you took a few minutes out of your day to read my words. It is that prospect that motivates me to take the time and care needed for these posts. It is also that which motivates me to capture my feelings at their most passionate moment.

So, here's to year 5! Right now, I'm continuing on a path of fewer posts but more writing. I'm writing much more involved posts and will try to increase the frequency. Every 6 months or so, I get to a stage where I think about where the blog fits into my life and I'm right in the middle of one of those stages. We'll see where it goes.

Obsessed? Addicted? It's politics

Often, someone else is able to better articulate what I've been feeling. Such is the case with an Opinion article from the LA Times today. Check it out.

Meghan Daum:
Obsessed? Addicted? It's politics
Time to stop mainlining the campaign and get on with real life -- if you can.
Meghan Daum
September 13, 2008

Are you experiencing disturbing, election-related thoughts? When you close your eyes at night, do the colors of CNN's "magic" electoral map dance in your head like red and blue sugarplums? When you get in your car and hear the same talk-radio personalities saying the same things they said the last time you got in the car, do you wonder what day it is? Are you getting carpal tunnel syndrome from hitting "refresh" at political websites and blogs? Are you aware that most of these sites refresh automatically, yet you find yourself clicking the navigation bar because new information about Sarah Palin's other baby, the alien dinosaur, might have surfaced seconds ago and you can't wait that long to read about it? Are you at once totally sick of election news and insatiably hungry for more? As a result, are you sick of yourself?

continue reading on latimes.com

By any name, Amazon Unbox disappoints and thus TiVo partnership fails

I was excited by the TiVo/Amazon Unbox partnership when it first launched. The idea of it is cool: pick a movie online, select it for downloading, pay a reasonable price and within a couple hours you have the full movie there to watch, TiVo style. However, the idea is a lot better than in product.

I have to guess that Unbox is struggling. Today when I logged on, they have a new, not-very-original name, Amazon Video-On-Demand. That leads me to believe that Amazon is losing in the war versus the cable and satellite companies' VOD services and versus Netflix. If that's true, let me offer a theory as to why based on my own experience because, frankly, I think it is struggling because it sucks.

The selection of movies is poor, plain and simple. Sure, there are thousands of programs but most of them are old and the kind of movies you'd find in the bargain bin at Best Buy. Versus the cable and satellite companies, the selection of new releases is nothing short of terrible with maybe one good new release coming about once a month. It is frustrating to me because I like using my TiVo interface and I don't like the Comcast VOD system, particularly in tandem with my TiVo.

My other gripe is ... 24 hours isn't long enough! I know that the studios are the ones that control the digital rights on these files, but it is this restriction that makes me choose Netflix over Amazon VOD. I often want to watch a movie over 2 nights, particularly a long movie. Say, night #1, I start the movie at 7 and stop watching at 8. But on night #2, I don't feel like finishing the movie until 8 or 9 ... I'm screwed. That is majorly inconvenient. For $3.99, you get more flexibility and more for your money by choosing virtually any other method of viewing.

Unfortunately, for TiVo, this failure undermines the value of a TiVo versus the cable company's on-demand and DVR products. If I were TiVo, I'd still be shopping for a new suitor as a movie partner. I'm pulling for TiVo and think it needs this type of relationship to be successful in the long term. They need a partner that works a lot better than this Amazon thing that I really want to use but just can't justify watching over-priced crap movies that I only have 24 hours to watch. Can't we do better, TiVo?

Sloppy, Sunny, Old-Timey and "Ouch, my back hurts!"

First of all, let me thank Cal for charging us $51 – full reserved price – for seats that were in the “Blue Zone" -- supposedly the discount section. Yes, that's right. They charged us more and gave us crappier seats by going through MSU than if we had gone to the Cal ticket office. This is a particularly great move since many of us Michigan State alumni live right here in the Bay Area and will (or won't) consider going to future Cal games. Thanks. I'll be sure to remember how screwed I feel when I think about going to another Cal game.

OK. Now that I have that out of the way …

It was a beautiful afternoon in Berkeley! The sun was shining and Memorial Stadium is in a great setting with the hills on one side and building tops and towers on the other. The stadium has an old-timey feel. Artificial turf aside, you could imagine yourself at a game in 1940. I think we sat on the same benches as they did in 1940. In fact, I don’t think a whole lot has changed in this stadium since 1940, which is both good and bad.

The game itself was a sloppy mess. Both teams made silly mistakes but play seemed to improve later in the game after the early-season jitters were over. Prior to the game, the analysis said that either or both California and Michigan State had the potential to be very good teams. Based on this game, they’ll be sort of good. They looked pretty much like the just-over-.500 teams they were last year. I was bummed that the Spartans lost but OK with a decent showing on the road far away from home against a good team.

“Ouch, my back hurts!”

Memorial Stadium at Cal is like an old-timey, smaller and low-tech version of Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. In fact, I have not been so uncomfortable at a football game since I saw a game in Ann Arbor years ago. Before you click the comment button and tell me what a crotchety old man I’ve become, imagine sitting for 3 ½ hours + with knees in your back sitting on old wooden benches. I challenge you to be comfortable. I’m not looking for cushy, individual butt holders. In fact, I much prefer a great sports atmosphere to comfort but there was some room for improvement in comfort. There certainly wasn’t any room for movement. It was a little scary how tightly we were packed in, in fact.

One last comment on the stadium ... the crowd movement around the stadium was poor and it is crazy that that is the case. I mean, how long exactly have they been holding football games at this stadium (since 1923 if you wondered)? How long have they had to address crowd control (that would be 85 years – I did the subtraction for you)? Don’t worry, I get it. Cal’s not a football school. And I know the WHOLE story about the proposed renovations, the Hayward fault (it goes right down the middle of the field from goalpost to goalpost according to Wikipedia) and the tree-sitters. But if Cal had really cared, the stadium issues would have been addressed 40 years ago rather than lingering into the 2000s. I do wonder if these issues (lack of comfort and crowd control) contribute to Cal’s lack of football fan support.

Seriously, though, despite all this crap, it was a great time and I wouldn't have missed it. It was great to see thousands of us MSU fans (the Cal ticket office estimated 15,000 of us) show up in Berkeley for the game. College football is a fun time, that's why I go!

Oh yeah, baby! MSU vs. Cal tomorrow.

I remember the moment 5 years ago when I read that Michigan State would be coming out to Berkeley to play Cal. At the time, I certainly did not know that I would have moved away from San Francisco to Columbus, Ohio for 4 years. A year ago, I looked at the schedule again. I was living in Los Angeles and I questioned whether I'd be able to travel up north to see the game. So here I am, back in San Francisco and excited to see the Spartans play Cal.

MSU football fans tend to be gluttons for punishment. Year after year, the team fails to live up to expectations. Here we are again, wide-eyed and optomisitic about the season. "Opportunity beckons!" screams the Lansing State Journal! "This year's Illinois!" yells ESPN. We'll all get sucked into the excitement just for the prospect that once -- finally -- the promise is realized and Spartan football is victorious.

Win or lose, it should be fun. I actually like Cal but I won't be rooting for them of course. The whole Birkenstock-wearin', protest-sign toting thing resonates with me. In fact, I think the infamous tree-sitters will be there to try to prevent the university from tearing down the trees to build an athletic facility. I love it. Life is more colorful when you have tree-sitters taking in a football game on a Saturday afternoon. You can even stop by their barbecue on the way to the game. And because of the way Memorial Stadium sits on a hill, they'll be able to climb up into the trees and enjoy the game with us.

I'm excited! Thousands of Spartan faithful (estimates have been up to 10,000), a beautiful 80-85 degree day, tree sitters, tightwad hill, a primetime ABC television audience a beautiful hilly Cal campus and the promise of a great game! This should be a blast!

Are we all sick of politics or is it just me?

I thought I would be the last person to get sick of politics.  I’ve been a self-proclaimed news junkie as long as I can remember.  Not any more.  Now, I am repulsed by politics.  Nothing gets me to hit the snooze faster than a political story blasting from my NPR-tuned alarm clock.

 

After the Obama-Clinton drama was over, we had a minor reprieve.  Sure there were a few random accusations and faux-dramas (Paris Hilton), but if you wanted to avoid politics, you could do it successfully.  The Olympics held the headlines for several days, too.  Then there was VP selection Saturday that created a media stir.  Funny that after Biden is selected that the entire media stream has been about Hillary Clinton, though.   This I know just from reading the front pages from newspaper boxes on my way to work.  With the Democratic Convention coming, I’m going to have to make the effort of NOT looking at those headlines.

 

Why the sudden disgust?  It is a combination of things.  It was the overload of Obama vs. Clinton.  It is Bill O’Reilly style analysis which has spread from Fox to CNN and others.  Meanwhile, news has become a game of quantity instead of quality.  We got better quality when there were fewer news outlets.  Now that there are thousands of outlets covering the news, there is no depth.  News in 2008 is like the world’s biggest parking lot puddle.

 

I’m sick of politics too because I have finally realized that it will never be what I want it to be:  people focusing on real, important issues of the day rather than the silliness of spin, love affairs, scandal and Paris Hilton.  Politics has never been that way and it never will be.  No amount or arguing or disgust or anger or disappointment will change that.  And since I can’t have fun with the circus of politics without getting upset about it, I have just decided to cut it out completely.  Yeah, I’ll vote but that’s about it.

 

And still yet another reason:  It’s no longer fun to be outraged at George W. Bush.  He is widely considered a terrible President and to try to convince his remaining supporters is pointless.  For a while, it was therapeutic to vent about what I think is a horror of a presidency on all levels.  The damage has already been done, both to the country and to George Bush who is now widely considered the worst president of our time and one of the worst of all time.  What more do I need to add?

 

What am I left to do?  Find another emotional sinkhole over which I have no control (save the infinitesimal contribution of a vote)?  That might be a little too healthy.  We shall see.

 

 

 

 

 

Send a little more of that guilt over this way, please!

If you want to live a life without guilt, my suggestion is to live somewhere other than San Francisco. True that in some cases a little guilt can be a good thing (examples to come), but let's get this under control! Under the San Francisco framework, you'd have to grow your own food and raise your own cows to live without guilt. Wait, I think you'd have guilt about that too!

Let me explain ... When I go to the store, if you accept a bag, you feel guilty. You should have brought a bag of your own. Driving also results in guilt. Not only are you using a natural resource but you are polluting the air. Very bad! Public transportation is a better option, but riding a bike or walking is better yet. And eating? Endless guilt. Did your food come from a free range, organic chickens? And if it says so, how do you know if you can believe them? And was your chicken wrapped in plastic? If so, that wrapping will be on our earth for an eternity. Very bad, indeed!

Here, we've gone from tap water to bottled water and back again. Three years ago, tap water was toxic (guilt), now the plastic bottles (big time guilt) are worse than the toxins. Expect to get funny, suspicious looks from people for using that plastic cup or (god forbid) styrofoam (mega super guilt!). All I wanted was some water, for Christ's sake!

Bags are a big deal here. Most stores are prohibited from giving us the thin, plastic bags that are generally in white but also available in a lovely, Chinatown shade of pink. You know, the noisy kind that double for doggie poo bags for many of us. We've used hundreds of these bags over the years but now, we must feel guilty for using them. They do not, after all, biodegrade. I read that in the 50 years of their availability, they are just as strong and durable as they were when formed, just a little soiled. Expect leers if you are in possession of one of these plastic bags, particularly if it looks new. It's OK to reuse, I think. I have a question, though, does my dog's poo live on forever if properly sealed in one of these bags?

Most of us like to eat meat. Even some vegetarians or vegans here in SF like meat but choose not to eat it. Lots of passion around the appropriate use of these farm animals. The result: Guilt. Guilt for caged chickens. Guilt for tethered cows. Guilt for pig confinement. With every delicious Safeway-purchased, factory-raised, genetically altered, steroidically pumped-up morsel, you get one giant serving of ... GUILT.

How do you make it stop? When can I feel OK about the food that I'm eating. I keep asking myself, have I done enough? Is buying cage-free eggs enough? It just seems like it is never enough. I try to buy responsibly and what is the result? I get a story like "Horizon organic isn't real organic." (<-- more on that issue here). I buy "compact fluorescent" bulbs only to find that discarding them is toxic. Bad enough that I'm sitting in the blue-hued light of a fluorescent bulb that I have to do it with guilt. Must I sit in the dark?

Where does it end? I have no answer and put forth no hypothesis. Perhaps the answer has nothing to do with what I eat, use or throw away. I guess it is me and learning to live in an imperfect world where everything I do can have far-reaching affects on the earth and environment. I just have a hard time with the guilt. And people here don't make it easy to forget about what the past is and the future holds for a bag, pig or light bulb. I'm not even Catholic. What's wrong with me?

No issue seems to incite more passion tha

Oh My Foggy San Francisco

I knew that I was going to miss the L.A. weather but also knew that I would re-adjust to San Francisco weather. Here is an example: It is 62 degrees and totally foggy. In downtown SF, the fog hovers just above the buildings rather than at ground level. Up in the Diamond Heights neighborhood, where I live, it is even cooler and the fog IS down at ground level. I wish I could share the sight with you. I'll try and capture it by camera. You walk through mini-clouds as they float down the street. It is like this a couple of times a week on average. No heat and humidity here in SF, just cool and damp. It definitely affects one's mood.

Which brings me to my current mood which matches the fog. Just kinda blah. Anyways, headed back into the fog for lunch!

CB2: The Opening in SF

I'm off to check out the new CB2 store here in SF! Thanks Jolene, for the invite!