Immoral moguls to lead middling nations
Current mood: thoughtful
Category: News and Politics

I know that many of my friends spend too much time on MySpace to read the middle of the paper, so I thought I'd bring the 'Net up to speed on the recent news of leadership changes in second-rate nations.

Once-mighty Russia has been ruled since 1999 by ex-KGB spook Vladimir Putin, who is termed-out after winning two presidential elections. His political party, United Russia, chose Dmitry Medvedev, chair of tyrannical energy monopoly Gazprom, as its presidential candidate for next year. To nobody's suprise, Mr. Medvedev promptly asked Mr. Putin to serve as prime minister. Mr. Putin will find the role familiar - it was the position from which he ascended the presidency after the sudden resignation of Boris Yeltsin.

In the Ukraine, the prime ministership has passed (again) to Yulia Timoshenko, a self-made energy billionairess who lost her previous premiership over allegations of corruption. But who cares how she made her money in the post-Soviet '90s? She has great hair.

Currently listening : Gimme More By Britney Spears Release date: 09 October, 2007

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Seude denim secret police at Google?
Current mood: scared
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

The new Economist's cover is the Google page, with the search options replaced by the company's problems, like Antitrust and China. In their long analysis of Google's corporate structure and long-term outlook, The Economist peels back the hippie-dippy facade of the Googleplex.

Yet for some on the inside, it can look different. One former executive, now suing Google over her treatment, says that the firm's personnel department is "collapsing" and that "absolute chaos" reigns. When she was hired, nobody knew when or where she was supposed to work, and the balloons that all Nooglers get delivered to their desks ended up God knows where. She started receiving detailed e-mails "enforcing" Google's outward informality by reminding her that high heels and jewelry were inappropriate. Before the corporate ski trip, it was explained that "if you wear fur, they will kill you."

Currently listening : Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death By Dead Kennedys Release date: 24 April, 2001

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International shoe trends revealed!
Current mood: curious
Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping

Yesterday's New York Times Business article about the Florsheim shoe company was more than a tale of family ownership finding success in the twenty-first century, but a lesson in global culture as well. No, the article didn't dwell on the differences between different countries' shoe manufacturers. But it provided some handy statistics, including per-capital shoe spending by country, and Florsheim's most popular designs by region.

According to the Times' chart, Americans rank very high in per-capita shoe spending, at $222 per every man, woman and child. Italians, of course, beat us handsomely with $309, but it looks like we're above the EU average. Even fairly wealthy nations like Canada and Kuwait were laggards, spending only $139 and $165 respectively. As my mother pointed out, that's a pair of Manolos only every few years.



Far more fascinating to this stylewatcher is Florsheim's most popular sellers by region. America's popular Cornell style is sleek, modern, and expensive-looking (if somewhat conservative), while Canada's is ugly, outdoorsy, and its café latte color is too light to go well with most outfits.
Europe's Kenmoor wingtip is elegant, old-fashioned, and slim. Australia / New Zealand's sporty Toronto style blended hip-hip and sporty detailing in a youthful shoe that's probably comfortable on the beach. China's fussy brown loafer looks cheap, and the wings on the side lend an Oriental touch. Pretty accurate, no?

Yet another observation in my continuing series about the intersection of global economics and culture. And how Canada sucks.

Currently listening : Goody Two Shoes By Adam Ant Release date: 01 May, 2000

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Outtakes from The Crucible
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Parties and Nightlife

Last Friday, I went to the Crucible for Industrial Chic, a fashion show featuring recycled, remnant, and repurposed materials. I had never been to the Crucible before, and it was freakin' awesome! I want to take a neon-making course. I reviewed the event for NovoMetro.com. Here are some photos that my editors didn't use. All were taken by Maddy Z.

Currently listening : She Don't Use Jelly By The Flaming Lips Release date: 07 October, 1993

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Top Six of '06
Current mood: awake
Category: Music

Happy New Year!

I know it's a self-indulgent to write a long blog about my musical opinions, but since so many music critics wrote Best Of articles, I felt it was only fair to respond. David Downs, the music editor of the otherwise excellent East Bay Express (he wrote the awful anti-Art Murmur article), wrote a blog calling the Strokes the best album of 2006. I didn't even know they have a new album. The primary motivation for this blog is this review of 2006, in which a professional music critic reveals that he utterly failed to understand Kelis' Bossy, saying it was weighty and calling Too $hort's verse "braindead." He instead prefers a super-gay generic house remix of the track.

I've decided that these no-nothing blowhards deserve a response from an Oaktown DJ. Thus, in my humble opinion (or IMHO), the six best songs of 2006 (a good year for music, all told):

6. Weave Pulled Out, DJ Assault

I think ghettotech could be popular in Oakland, although its very fast ravey-like beats and XXX-rated lyrics make it hard to spin at a bar. DJ Assault's latest update of his pioneering 1996 track Ass & Titties, Weave Pulled Out (actually the second Weave Pulled Out he's made),samples James Brown* perfectly. There are just three lines, but they're hilarious ("weave pulled out (repeat) / she was fightin' in the club and got that weave pulled out (repeat) / Horse hair... everywhere").

5. Hustler Hall of Fame, Mickey Avalon

This Hollywood "glam rapper" had his MySpace Records-released indie CD picked up by Interscope, and may blow up in '07. He's a bisexual ex-prostitute whose Beck-like mix of electro hip-hop beats and pop-rock instrumentation is accessible yet fresh. Like most of his songs, this tells some great stories, including a verse about hanging out at a bar just like the Ruby Room. The languid but sexy beat is punctuated by an excellent En Vogue sample.

4. Text U, Le Mans

I've been a big fan of LA-based underground electro star Le Mans for a few years. V. and I hosted a CD release party, for his sophomore album, at Radio Bar. His best songs take hot Italo Disco beats and rough them up with dirty electro effects and naughty female vocalists. Text U has a bumpin' dance beat, and LeMans spews clever rhymes about texting ones' friends when it's too loud to talk at the club. The only problem with it is that it's too short!

3. Vans, The Pack

Currently listening : Mickey Avalon By Mickey Avalon Release date: 07 November, 2006

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Victory (and some defeat) for the DTO!
Current mood: satisfied
Category: News and Politics

As many of you know, one-year incumbent City Councilwoman Pat Kernighan was reelected overwhelmingly yesterday, receiving 54.5% of the vote to her opponent's 45.2%, a huge margin of victory (over 800 votes!). I am so proud to have volunteered for Pat's issues-based, inspirational campaign that included so many different people from all over District 2 (which encompasses large parts of downtown, including Radio Bar). Pat is a strong supporter of downtown revitalization, retail growth, public transit / pedestrian /bicycle improvements, and is really open to listening to people. I've told her before that I am concerned about poor taxi service and limited late-night bus service in parts of the DTO, and she has promised to do something about it! Her opponent wanted to "stop spending dollars on downtown redevelopment," zone out nail salons, abandon community policing, and introduce SF- and Berkeley-style BS into our city politics. Pat's victory is for consensus as well as for downtown.

Unfortunately, downtown Oaktown suffered a big defeat as well, with Measure N failing to achieve the necessary two-thirds vote for passage of this bond measure (it was approved by only 63% of voters). Our library facilities are in desperate need of improvement, and the Main Library is a disaster. Moving the Main to the Kaiser arena would have been great; now I'm worried that politicians will take away the wrong message from the bond, that Oakland doesn't want a spectacular downtown Main Library with parking and transit access (the real message is that, first, the bond was poorly written, and second, that people don't want to pay higher taxes until they see an improvement in city services for which taxes were hiked over the last four years). We'll have to keep up the pressure on the City Council to give Oakland the central library that we deserve.

Currently listening : Downtown Train By Rod Stewart Release date: 22 February, 1990

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Voting! Votar!
Current mood: accomplished

I voted today at the Alameda County Courthouse (12th and Fallon). Anybody in Alameda County can vote there anytime through the election. It took about ten minutes. They didn't have the new voting machines yet, so I filled out an absentte ballot.

I thought I'd give you some of my votes, with brief explanations, for those of you who are unsure about your choices.

Pat Kernighan for City Council: It's really important for young people that Pat, who's the Council's only real advocate for downtown revitalization, be reelected. Aimee Allison has numerous times talked about the evils of new residents, the perils of encouraging retail (especially service-oriented businesses, like the nailshops she hates), and how the police cause crime. If she were on the council, young people would have absolutely no voice and fewer opportunities to work, buy a home, or start a business in Oakland.

Courtney Ruby for City Auditor: Roland Smith's office has been accused of being an unwelcome work environment for women. Also, he's way too bound up with Dellums to be an independent source of information. Ruby is widely supported and a really nice lady.

Measure N: Yes! We really need a new downtown main library!

Measure O: No! Instant Runoff Voting is weird and radical. It risks confusing voters. And since when are elections too expensive? That's ridiculous.

Governor: I reluctantly voted for Angelides, who's a putz but would, overall, be better for Oaklanders.

Sec of State: I voted for McPherson, who is essentially nonpartisan. Debra Bowen is against all voting machines (not just correcting possible security flaws), even though they are the only way for disabled people or minority-language speakers to vote.

Prop 85: No! This goes way too far. The Legislature already passed a more moderate version.

Prop 86: No! This cigarette tax subsidies for-profit hospitals and removes them from state anti-trust oversight. Also, it's way too high, and so would encourage smuggling. You know Mexican cigarettes would be widely available within days of its passage.

Prop 89: No! This is very one-sided and unfair. Sure, so was the corporation's version last year, but that doesn't make the union attempt to grab power right. Also, it's clearly unconstitutional - you can't ban issue-ad spending.

Prop 90: No! This is absurdly radical. Even though I generally disapprove of many land-use regulations, we can't just outlaw them.

Currently listening : California Love By 2 Pac & Dr Dre Release date: 30 April, 1996

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The Best Hair in the World
Current mood: naughty
Category: News and Politics

Politicians, as a rule, are not known for being stylish. Unfortunately, the need to appease electoral majorities is inimical to the risk-taking needed for an excellent look. However, the foreign parliamentary system often allows extreme personalities to gain power. Living in a city whose full integration into the global economy can cause bizarre crimewaves (like the rash of manhole-cover and trashcan thefts to supply China's voracious appetite for scrap metal), it's important to remember that there's a big world outside our doorstep, with some excellent hair to offer foreign policy wonks otherwise speculating over our diplomats' possible romantic entanglements.

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brought a breath of fresh air to Japan's stagnant economy with his inspirational rock-star 'do.


Even French Prime Minister Dominique Villepin's beautiful mullet couldn't save him from the fallout over his attempt to relax employment contracts for young people.


Ukrainian firebrand Yulia Timoshenko has an on-again, off-again relationship with political power. Whether she's President Viktor Yushchenko's enemy or his friend changes weekly, but her cute braids always remain the same.


Of course, our resident hottie Bitch-In-Chief never fails to remind us how sexy Mrs. Brady was.

Currently listening : World Clique By Deee-Lite Release date: 07 August, 1990

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Blog Tag
Current mood: happy
Category: Blogging

After uploading a new, pouty-lipped and oh-so-trendy mirror photo to my recently expanded MySpace pictures section (and I was just about to break down and buy that awful CD), I received a new comment. Expecting it to be yet another testament to my coolness, I was suprised when, instead, it read TAG.

These are the rules: Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with ten weird things/habits about yourself. Afterwards, you need to choose ten people to be tagged and list their names. Then, go to their profiles and leave comments that say, "You've been tagged." and direct them to check your blog.

Alright, ten "weird" things about myself. Let's see...

1. I live in a weird neighborhood. I've got skyscrapers and restored Victorians on one side, and mouldering old apartment buildings on the other. And now my favorite neighbors moved out! *sob*



2. I am the Martian Champion, but I think my reign at the top of the Radio Pinball Union has come to and end with the new pinball games, whose high-score is dominated by my arch-rival.



3. I ♥ Dance Dance Revolution, even though I don't actually play it.



4. I owe the girl who tagged me a mix CD (preventing me from deleting her from my friends, her comments from my page, and simply avoiding this entire blog). And, Beth, I say "help a brother out" (referring to myself), I think you can say the same. But sistah.

5. I lie more in real life than on the Internet. Isn't that weird?

6. You guys know that I volunteered for Ignacio de la Fuente in the mayoral election. Since he won the parts of Oakland I hang out in, that's not so weird. But did you know that I volunteered for Arianna Huffington during the gubernatorial recall election?



7. If you haven't seen my job-search-appropriate MySpace profile, check it out.



8. I know that 8 is a lucky number for Chinese people. That's hard to miss, what with all the 8s in phone numbers in Chinatown.



9. I blog. Is that weird?

10. I ♥ T-Shirts. I supposed that's more unexpected than weird.



Happy Friday! I'm off to play some pinball.

Currently listening : Impeach My Bush By Peaches Release date: 11 July, 2006

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Superman: Now a WASP
Current mood: irritated
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

I have never been a fan of comic books, but I do like a lot of the comic book-based movies of the last decade (and the Matrix - I love the Matrix Reloaded). In high school, my mother watched the psuedo-feminist Lois and Clark TV series (whose star, Teri Hatcher, along with Lara Flynn Boyle, show that TV actresses actually LOSE weight as they age), but I didn't really care for it. I often receive flattering comparisons to the Man of Steel himself, but the only bloggable one is a reference to my hairdo.

My dark, curly hair (typical of my people) often falls across my forehead in a lovely corkscrew that women find quite fetching. It is commonly referred to as my "Superman curl." Not being much of a Superman fan, that was my sole understanding and identification with the superhero - he is a fellow ethnic American, trying to do right and fit in within an alien society. I was aware that two Jews created the character, and simply accepted Mr. Red Cape as one of many ethnic American cultural heroes, like Barbie (who is Jewish) or Super Mario, but unlike trust-funded uber-WASP Bruce Wayne.

Ethnic America is often under assault by Hollywood, whose brightest young stars have to ditch their heritage through a name-change or nose-job in order to be cast (like Jennifer Anistopolous, Wendy Lifschitz,* or Alicia Silverstein). However, I'm unused to the whosesale white-washing of a long-standing fictional character. In the new Superman Returns, Clark Kent is a WASP!

Gone is the perfect Jewfro of the 1940s movies. Gone is the dark hair of virtually every iteration of the superhero. According to the LA Times, such "blue-black hair is very rare, very hard to find naturally," (Hollywood stylist Chaz) Dean says. "It's what everybody wanted in the '80s." Instead, the new Man of Steel has light brown hair, and not only is it East Coast straight, it's parted!

To add insult to injury, the movie's inept stylist added a curl to the actor's forehead. Apparently Superman needs a forelock curl, but the rest of the ethnicity can simply be jettisoned. Unfortunately for the movie, this curl looks totally fake (one club-goer last Saturday night described it as "metrosexual," or overly done-up). According to our LA expert, "Some people get those natural curls around the hairline, or the nape, but really, this look is a fantasy. It's odd." Odd? That's a kind way to describe cramming a whitey into an ethnic role.

Compare for yourself!

Currently listening : Superman Pt.1 By Stereophonics Release date: 21 June, 2005

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