My neighborhood likes to capitalize on its reputation as an alternative haven for counter-cultural beatnicks, but that is mostly bunk. And some things about North Beach are just so lame these days that, despite its beauty, I find myself wondering if I really belong here. Take this item. It occured at the festival I wrote the letter to the editor about a couple of weeks ago.

Sunday afternoon, with police standing by, festival bosses from the North Beach Chamber of Commerce literally pulled the plug on a marathon poetry reading on an outdoor stage at Green Street and Grant Avenue because of complaints about the noise, profanity and negative political content, according to witnesses.

"It was very ironic,'' says poet Joe Pacheco, ''because when (they) came to pull the plug, there was an old lady standing up there reading poems about trees and flowers.''

...

For the record, chamber executive Marsha Garland says they pulled the plug only after poets refused to tone down their act for the sake of the kids in the audience.

So you think you've got it tough? The economy, apparently, really really sucks here in the bay area and houses are insanely expensive.

Indeed, conditions do look relatively good because things have been so bleak for so long. The area lost nearly a fifth of its jobs after the end of the bubble in 2000, said Mark Zandi, the chief economist at the consulting firm Economy.com. Looking strictly at job losses, he said, the San Jose metropolitan area, which includes much of Silicon Valley, suffered the worst collapse of any metropolitan area in the United States since the Great Depression, surpassing Detroit, which lost 13 percent of its jobs in the early 1980's.

I can't remember, I'm like eight or nine months into my shaky self-imposed boycot of (new) music buying. The industry makes me sick suing its biggest fans and shovelling us crap all the time. And lest we forget that it really is a business, there's this item:

Yep, the U2 rock legend has become a venture capitalist, joining a new Menlo Park firm put together by old Silicon Valley hands Roger McNamee and John Riccitiello.

Welcome new blogger: Emma B.

Kinda like Nat King Cole & Natalie, but they're both dead

Instant message from Anna:

cpacd10: i'm on hold with clear channel/nashville and they're doing a double-tribute to reagan & ray charles; playing ray singing "america the beautiful" and speaking a tribute to reagan

As my sister Trish said, only in Canada, eh?

The Extreme Kindness Tour is a three month non-profit marathon: our mission is to connect the world through kindness. Four friends in one motorhome will be committing random acts of kindness in as many Canadian communities as possible. We'll be knocking on your door offering to cook you dinner, dragging you out for a game of hockey on your coffee break, or entertaining kids at the childrens' hospital. Kindness 24/7.

Forget about Bonzo. A real American treasure has died. Rest in peace, Brother Ray.

...and he proved that a know-nothing actor can use forgetful platitudes and empty jingoism to rule the free world.

I don't know if any of you other bloggers have been invited to join gmail yet, but when you do, you get two invite two other friends at the same time. Turns out that you can get some stuff in exchange for these gmail accounts. On eBay, they seem to be going for about $50 today.

Wow.