Molotovs.

So, I have been spending a lot of time at the local bars in both the lower and upper Haight areas and I thought I would share a little about my favorite one so far- MOLOTOVS! The bar is located in the Lower Haight on Haight Street between Fillmore and Steiner. It is a small "dive bar" type that is good for grabbing a drink after work or partying hard on the weekends. They always have really good punk, metal, alternative or old school rock n roll playing and sometimes you can watch that really funny "manswers" show will you are in there. The bartenders are fast, drinks are cheap and STRONG! A few 4 dollar mixed drinks and you will be will on your way to toasted. There is also a lot of really interesting art work hanging on the walls that you can see... but you might need to use a flash light because it is normally pretty dark inside... aka be careful who you are flirting with because sometimes you will be shocked when they turn the lights on at last call! haha I was also told my a regular named Morgan Gessert that the "drink of choice" is Pabst which seems to be the same at all bars in the lower haight. Oh and if you have a dog this bar is perfect for you... they allow just about anyone to bring in any type of dog... hell, I even saw a dog drinking beer in there this past friday night!!!

Graffiti.

As many of you know, I did my crime article on graffiti in the Haight. While I was doing my reporting, I walked from one end of Haight Street all the way to the other end. As I walked down the street I stopped at all the various graffiti along the way and took some pictures. Honestly, I was shocked by all the graffiti that is so artistic and done with such talent.

Here are some of the pictures I took:








(from the outside of soul patch tattoo shop)


(also soul patch)


(also soul patch)




(this one is insane! you can't even tell it is on a door, it looks like a real painting!)




(notice the "fuck pigs"... not really the smartest idea to tag if you don't wanna go to jail haha)






(this was actually the only real tagging i found)

and then there was one wall that really caught my attention...



See, the thing is that it is a blank wall and really what harm would it be if it was used to graffiti? I think it is time for San Francisco to get with the times and start a program so graffiti artists can legally show off their talent. Like in Venice Beach in SoCal... they have walls reserved for graffiti... and guess what? They probably don't have as big as a problem with graffiti as San Francisco currently does.

420

so today is april 20th and i wanted to take a few minutes to bitch about how stupid i think people are. why do people feel the need to smoke a bunch of weed on the particular day? first of all, weed is illegal and second of all, it is for dirty nasty hippes.
i think all the damn stoners need to go get a life and find something better to do with their lies tahn sit around and smoke weed. it is really unattractive and i refuse to take part of it.

and to all my friends who are going out smoking wee dtonight, forget you know me.

losers. haha

There are two distinctly different neighborhoods on the opposite ends of Haight Street. One half still holds true to its counter-culture while the other half has created its very own young and refreshing reputation in recent years.
The Haight is located between the Panhandle and Hayes Valley in San Francisco. It’s known worldwide for its deep history, beautiful houses, unique shops, artistic style, and of course, the eccentric people who roam the block.
Beverly Ryan has lived in the Haight for 41 years. When she was in her early twenties she hopped on a bus in a small town outside of Chicago and headed out to join the excitement in the Haight during what is now known as the Summer of Love. She fell in love with the neighborhood instantly and hasn’t left since then.
“Haight was like a dream come true to the herds of people who flocked there in the 60s and still draws in excited crowds day after day,” Ryan said. “It never lost its touch.”
When Ryan was younger, her days were filled with acid, music and long hair. Nowadays she has the advantage of reminiscing of those days while enjoying the new generation of Haight Street locals, the growing number of tourists and the commercial changes around the Haight.
Today approximately 39,000 people live in the Haight. These residents are all packed into the blocks of colorful old Victorian houses.
The median housing price is $1,096,337, which may explain while the majority of homes are renter occupied units. The majority of residents are between the ages of 25 to 34, including a large population of students and young professionals, according to About.com.
On the street level of these homes residents and visitors can find a variety of local businesses. You can go search for old records at Amoeba Music, grab a slice of pizza at Escape From New York, get a quick trim at Blade Runners Salon, get tattooed at Mom’s Tattoo or dig through bins of old-fashion clothes at Buffalo Exchange.
“My favorite part of working on Haight Street is staring out the shop window and watching the different people stroll up and down the block,” said Eric Jones, a local tattoo artist. “The people here seem to have the most character in the city. From the crack heads in the park to the old hippies, we’ve got it all.”
There are many different forms of eye-catching art on Haight Street such as street performers, graffiti and musicians who trying to make a buck or two. These artists fill the street corners during the day and at nighttime disc jockeys, bands and art galleries pull people in. Popular nightclubs such as The Underground SF, Club Deluxe and Milk keep the evenings on Haight Street alive.
There are also several schools located on Haight Street such as William R. De Avila Elementary School and Aim High Academy Middle School. There is a health clinic, Cole Street Clinic, located on the corner of Haight Street and Cole Street.
The Randall Museum serves as a children’s museum and nature center with science exhibits and live animals for the children to interact with. The museum is located right above the Buena Vista Park, a wonderful place to take your children.
But the real heart of the Haight seems to be at the very end of the street. Golden Gate Park brings together many different people form the neighborhood for events throughout the year such as the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Aids Walk, Bay to Breakers and the annual Comedy Day festival.
“There may be thousands of people in the city but it seems that every Sunday I see familiar faces relaxing in the park,” said resident Jesse Palmer. “It’s like one big happy family.”

obamarama

A line across the entire Student Services building at San Francisco State University can only mean one thing: the FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is due soon. But this year, more students than ever seem to be applying for financial aid as the economy gets worse and education prices sky rocket each semester.
Between budget cuts, teacher cuts, classroom size cuts and rising tuition rates, a college degree seems almost impossible for the average American student. However, with a new president in office and a recent slight “attitude change: in the American people, is it possible that we can work together to improve high education across the United States?
“All I want to do is graduate already,” said Brittany Mcgordy, a senior at San Francisco State University. “But it feels like all the odds are against me and I am never going to see graduation day/”
President Obama and his people have already begun to lay the pavement for the future of education and will continue to develop these plans in the next three months. The goal is for students to begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We will finally put a college degree n reach for anyone who wants one,” said President Obama.
Obama and Vice President Biden plan to create a new tax credit in order to make a college education possible for all those who are willing to put in the work for it. The credit will be call the “American Opportunity Tax Credit” and will be universal and fully refundable up to $4,000 of college education for Americans. Essentially, each year students who have paid their registration fees will get the amount they paid back when they do their taxes. It will cover approximately two-thirds of the average cost of tuition at public college and universities. This seems to put a smile on many college students since statistics show that the average college student graduates with $19,000 in debt. For some students they are already in the $60,000+ debt group, which is a scary thought considering the job market’s current situation.
In addition, the Obama Administration would also like to “simplify” the application process that students go through each year to get federal financial aid. As many students know, it seems like a battle to fill out the FASFA forms and there always seems to be some kind of problem that pops up in the process making the process not only stressful and annoying but sometimes very hard to understand. Obama would like to see it be as simple as checking a box on your tax form that would allow the information to be sent out for financial aid evaluation instead of dealing with a separate application.
But it’s not just getting through college that Obama cares about, he is also standing up for getting to college. The president focused a lot of attention on early education during his campaign and now, hopefully, we will see his words put into action.
On of the ongoing debates in education has been focused on standardized testing and its effects on the classroom. Some school districts have begun to change their curriculum in the classroom so they will increase students test scores so they will not lose government funding. But on the flip side, Obama believes that the testing has drained the creativity from the classroom and that teachers have become too focused on teaching only standardized testing material for the sake of saving their jobs. President Obama plans to solve the issue by providing more funds to allow states to develop a broader range of testing that will include the use of technology, research, investigation, problem solving and idea shaping.
Another heated subject is the controversial “No Child Left Behind” program that hasn’t seemed to do what it was originally planned to do when it was first introduced. The problem may be the teachers, students, parents, government or many other various factors but the point is that it just isn’t working and needs to be updated or taken out of the education field. Perhaps one of the biggest problems with the program is that we do not know how well every teacher is actually teaching and with all the budget cuts and teachers retiring it is hard to keep track of what teachers are actually dong their job and trying to follow the program in order to help every kid pass each grade.
The city of San Francisco has been greatly affected by budget cuts in both the lower and higher education systems. For the past two years, 500 teachers in the San Francisco Unified School District have faced the possibility of loosing their jobs. However, Mayor Gavin Newsom stepped in to save the day both times by providing funds from San Francisco’s “rainy day fund” to keep the teachers on staff for one more year.
However, not every city in the United States has back up funds of their own to use when necessary to save their cities education. Now it is up to the citizens to step up, work together and fight for quality, affordable and higher education. Lucky for the United States, we have a new and very optimistic president to guide us as we try to save education.
“I really hope younger generations do not have to go through this same battle when it is their turn to go to college,” said Mcgordy.

the walden house

The Walden House serves as a national leader in drug and alcohol addictions to the people of San Francisco and throughout the state of California. The program serves adults, children, people with extensive criminal backgrounds, people with HIV/AIDS and people with multiple diagnoses. Currently there are about 3,400 people taking advantage of the various different services the Walden House has to offer such as:
- Mental Health (Outpatient): Individual treatment plans made for each patient in order to meet their individual needs. These plans can include individual therapy, group therapy, medication services, case management, skills training and crisis services. There is also an intensive outpatient harm reduction day treatment program for patients who may be unsure about giving up heir addiction but would still like to improve their life. Diagnosis day treatment is available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Mental Health (Residential): All the services offered for outpatient patients but for those in need of more attention and serious treatment. Patients may be kept for any period between three days and one year and follow a Wellness Recovery Action Plan to help reach stabilization and better health. There are currently four different residential sites in San Francisco.
- Representative Payee Program: Offered for patients who receive financial benefits such as supplemental security income or social security and need assistance managing their money in order to make sure they have food, clothing, shelter and all the other things necessary for them to go on. There is a monthly fee for this program that is deducted from the patients check each month.
- Crisis Stabilization: Designed to help HIV positive patients through detoxification and getting back into the community. The program can last from one to six weeks. The San Francisco CARE Council funds the program.
- Community Housing: Provides both permanent and transitional living spaces for patients. The sober living environments are safe and secure for patients as they work their way through treatment.
- Homeless Services: Walden House participates in Major Gavin Newsom’s “Homeless Connect” in order to connect those in need with resources, prevention services and treatment.
- Criminal Justice Programs: Serving patients in custody who wish to enroll in treatment while they are serving their time. The Walden House currently operates two in-custody substance abuse treatment programs for women at Valley State Prison for women in Chowchilla, CA. They work with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to meet the needs of inmates.
- Walden Institute of Training: Provides basic and advanced courses in motivational interviewing, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, tobacco cessation education, harm reduction, stages of change, recovery education, alcohol and drug education, sexually transmitted disease education, case management, treatment planning, cultural competence, and gender-response treatment intervention for Walden House staff and members of community-based treatment centers in California. The Walden Institute of Training is approved by the American Psychological Association.

this is just practice

Sarah Millett, a journalism student at San Francisco State University who devoted her time to filmmaking and various forms of activism, has died of a methamphetamine overdose.

Ms. Millett was 24 years old when she died in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco on Monday after paramedics fought to save her life.

Ms. Millett's short film "Gender Pains," an experimental documentary that shed light on the hardships surrounding gender roles as an individual and as a part of society, was shown on KQED and played at various film festivals throughout California, Texas and Minnesota. The film also included Sarah's own personal and ongoing struggle with her identity as a young girl going though a gender transition, which she called her "butch phase."

"She had a quality about her that's deep, thoughtful, truthful, sincere and trustworthy," said Eileen Bautista, who had befriended Sarah when the worked together at City College of San Francisco before she transferred to San Francisco State University.

In 2007, Millett displayed a collage she made at the California Young Women's Collaborative art show. In addition, she coordinated the Insights Art Exhibition at San Francisco City Hall for two years, an annual art show that is made up of works from blind or visually impaired artists.

"She has always stepped to a different drum beat than the rest of the kids her age," said Mother Karen Saltekoff. "In fact, I think she was in charge of the whole damn band most of the time."

Friends and family will remember Sarah as a very compulsive and passionate writer. She often had conflicting characteristics that helped shape her into an intriguing woman. Her interests also included notes, magazines and painting. She enjoyed making new friends and spending time with her old ones.

"As long as I am involved in art and activism, I think I will have a chance at happiness," said Sarah shortly before she died.

Survivors include her Mother, Karen Saltekoff of Toledo, Oregon; and sister, Jennifer Millett of Portland, Oregon.

A memorial ceremony will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at The Old First Presbyterian Church, 1751 Sacramento Street, San Francisco. A private burial will follow the next morning.

Ms. Millett's family has asked that memorial donations be made to the Bay Area National Council of Alcoholism and other Drug Addictions, 944 Market Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94102.

very important issue: underage drinking

I know most of you guys are going to think, "What the fuck is Jamey talking about... that girl loves to party!" However this is a very serious issue to me. As someone who has been personally impacted by drinking problems, duis and the death of a good friend due to booze I think this issue is very important to our society. There is not a single good thing that could possibly come from lowering the drinking age to 18. Please, set aside your love for beer and realize what is best for the country as a whole. Thanks!

The following is an email I just got from MADD:

An estimated 25,000 lives have been saved by the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA), which is why we were gravely concerned to learn that the college and university presidents and representatives listed below have added their names to a misguided initiative aimed at attacking the minimum drinking age of 21.

We are not alone in our concern. The public strongly disagrees with efforts to lower the drinking age. According to a new survey released by Nationwide Insurance this week:

78 percent of adults support 21 as the minimum drinking age
72 percent of adults think lowering the drinking age would make alcohol more accessible to kids
Nearly half believe it would increase binge drinking among teens
More than half say they are less likely to vote for a state representative who supports lowering the legal limit or send their children to colleges or universities with "party school" reputations
Contact the college and university presidents who have signed on to this initiative and request they remove their signatures and support the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age.

We must work together to find a responsible solution to the underage drinking problem, one that does not jeopardize a law that has saved nearly 25,000 lives since going into effect. Solutions include: enforcing the drinking age, tightening alcohol policy, working within the college community to ensure the environment supports the above and working with parents to talk to their children well before peer pressure begins, around fourth grade.

trasher magazine

As I begin to take dig a little deeper with my magazine, Thrasher, I have realized that this magazine is seriously genius. Although there is none stop ads, the editors have really designed everything so that as you flip through the pages you seem to forget that you are even looking at advertisements. The lay out is planned so perfectly that the reader just gets caught up in the visual stimulation on the magazine.
There are a few similarities and differences that I noticed in this months issue compared to last month. For starters, although there are still 90% ads, it seems that all the ads are different this month than last. I didn’t notice any repetitive ads or pictures in the ads. This month was not a special issue like last months but they did have a central feature article this month, an interview with the boy who was awarded Skater of the Year and announced in last months issue. This month they sat down with him and interviewed him about his career, skating and what the award means to him. When I was reading this article I noticed what my favorite part of Thrasher is- PULL QUOTES! They seriously pick the perfect pull quotes for each article and they really serve as an entry point to grab the reader’s attention.
Thrashers mission statement is, “ Thrasher fuses the excitement of top-level skateboarding with reader participation, hard-edged music and attitude.” I think this issue was a perfect example of their mission statement. I noticed that this month there was a little more music articles than last months, which was a nice change. One other thing that I noticed was that they have a mail order shopping section in the magazine where they sell various Thrasher t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, baby clothes and underwear. The master minds behind this magazine have really thought of everyway to market the company to its readers to make a lot of money in various ventures.
I also did a little research this month and got a hold of some old media kits and information. Last month I had a hard time finding the magazine so in my research I found out that Thrasher magazine is distributed throughout the United States and Canada by Curtis Circulation Company. There are also a few other companies that they work with in the US but it still seems like it is difficult to find it at the magazine stand at Walgreens or Safeway sometimes. In 2003, there total distribution was 196,000 and 31% of that was in California alone. I also found some advertising rates that showed clearly why Thrasher is not going out of business anytime soon. In 2000 it cost $5,690 for a full-page color ad to run once and in 2003 it cost $11,117 for the exact same ad. I emailed their advertising director and am waiting to hear back about the ad rates for 2008 and 2009.
Honestly, the more and more I look at Thrasher, the more I am upset that I didn’t think of this magazine!

flapper girls

Throughout history women as a whole have continued to evolve and fight for what they want. But not all women have the same opinions and views as to how they want to go about these issues. When we look at feminism issues today we can clearly see a distinct difference between the older more traditional feminist and the “new age” feminist that arrived on scene in the 1920s. By taking advantage of several different developments in their time, the new feminists were about to gain more ground as a sex and define their gender in a way no one would have imagined was possible.
The first significant development I noticed in the reading was the newfound “freedom of choice” that females of the time were acting on. Females of this time were determined to not be like their older relatives and they sure were not going to continue their ways. Although the ladies of the 1920s admired and respected the pioneer feminist, they were ready to set their own tone. It was time for them to develop their new attitude and make decisions for themselves. Of the many decisions they would begin to make for themselves the two biggest ones were if one was to marry or not and if one was to have children or not. The modern women handled these new decisions by developing a sense of balance between their marriage, family life, careers and personal lives. They believed the
most important thing was to prove their value not just in the home but also in every other aspect of life. “Love may die, and children may grow up, but one’s work goes on forever.” (Ware, Page 128)
Next, and probably the most noted development of the time, came women’s expression of their sexual identity. Woman began to show off their sexuality in a variety of ways including clothing, make-up, flirting, dancing, dating and even having sexual relationships with men. “Like the flappers… defined social control and conventions, who was modern, sophisticated, and frank in speech, dress, morals and lifestyle.” (The Chinese Flapper) As the younger women of the generation began to show some sexuality and confidence they were faced with generational and cultural conflicts with older women. Because females were still viewed as a reflection on the family, many women had problems living the way they wanted to live and definitely weren’t always able to get away with flashy clothes or sexy make-up. In the article The Flapper and the Chaperone, they discuss the various ways families tried to control women. Many girls could not do anything on their own because people seemed to be afraid that they were becoming too expressive and explorative. They were not allowed to go to dances, dates or even have a male walk them home without a chaperone, which many young females viewed as a “spy.” “Faced with this type of situation, young women had three options: they could accept the rules set down for them; they could rebel; or they could find ways to compromise or circumvent traditional standards.” (The Flapper and the Chaperone) I believe the goal of chaperones was to keep the women in control and control their wondering thoughts. The concern was that if women begun wearing make-up and dresses she would look and act like a flapper no matter what. One interesting thing I could was that Luna stated that she remembered that she used to think kissing would get you pregnant. On the contrary, women enjoyed talking and flirting with men because their ideas interested her and she found it amusing to flirt. (Ware, Page 129) However, they weren’t able to control women that well and they eventually found ways around and lived the way they wanted to with the men they wanted to do so with. Chaperones were no longer able to control or harass women’s personal behavior and sexuality.
Lastly, as a journalism student I could not help but noticed the development of the media during the flapper era. In all the readings I noticed that some form of media was mentioned (magazines and newspapers mostly). According to Lupe Velez, “The social authority of the media of mass culture replaced older forms of family authority and behavior.” It seemed as though the media was displaying the new remodeled female for the world to see. The new ideas of the females were reinforced in various English and Spanish publications. They began to include feature advice columns, horoscopes and celebrity gossip for women. Magazines began to run ads and articles for make up, hair and other beauty products to market them to females. As one company selling skin cream claimed, “Those with lighter, more healthy skin tones will become much more successful in business, love and society.” The press was conveying the new societal norms and models for the readers to follow.
As a whole, I believe that the women of the time really were helping the gender gain ground for themselves and women of the future. As I was reading I realized that a lot of the issues they faced in the 1920s are still issues that young women face today and I believe the women of the 1920s set the tone for how we are living our life today. Sure, there will always be obstacles with your parents and pressure to get married and have kids from some families, but the women of the 1920s showed us that we have a choice and we can live our life anyway we want to. Because of them I can continue to be single, flirt as much as I want and wear the brightest lipstick around!