The Strand is a vacant movie theatre at 1127 Market Street. I have many fond memories of its years as a repertory movie house, having seen such shows as a triple-bill of the Evil Dead series (I, II, and Army of Darkness), a double-bill of Ken Russell, showing Lair of the White Worm and Gothic, and also a rather esoteric Spanish film entitled Tras el Crystal (In a Glass Cage), which involved a Nazi pedophile rendered helpless in an iron lung(!). Given the films I saw there, I associate the Strand with the darker elements, while for a time afterwards it became a haven for an even seedier class of film, the XXX.
In the late eighties and early nineties, their calendar lived on our refrigerator and determined the activities of certain evenings each month. Films that were not shown at the art school where we went, as they were in fact commercial (sometimes barely) and feature length, not at all the fare of the art-for-art's-sake purists who comprised the avant-garde.
Thus the Strand represented an alternative to Alternative film. Films not of Hollywood and not mainstream, nor of the art school canon. And for this I always appreciated the Strand.
In truth, it was sadder to see the Strand operating as a smut house than to see it shut down. Imagine perhaps seeing a friend turning tricks. And then they die, Which is sadder?
I would like to remember the Strand as a grande dame, a bit down on her luck, but full of fire, and life, and culture. One that is not the multiplex monoculture.
I propose to project trailers and B-movie reels of the era, with sync audio, popcorn and refreshments. Anything of this sort may border on nostalgia, but this will be no maudlin exercise (a funeral), but an appreciation of the life. I seem to prefer these when someone who I know, especially in the arts, has died.
Presently I am seeking permission from the owner to unboard the frontage in order to show rear-projected (from inside) 16mm films on a frosted glass, the audience invited to stand or sit nearby on the sidewalk (permits, yes). There will be a hot popcorn maker and should the owner wish to make a little pocket money he/she is invited to reprint old playbills, memorabilia for purchase.
No telling when the building itself will be destroyed and some grand vision built there in the shadow of that attrocity the Federal Building which stands behind. http://sf.curbed.com/tags/strand-theater
Artist's Statement
One manner in which this project fulfills the ideal goals of the Mid Market Art Project is that the audience, the public, is drawn into the movie-going experience in a non-standard but more engaging fashion: on the street. Normally one goes to the theater, and enters a solitary space, while surrounded by others, paradoxically. There is no social element, once the movie starts, one hopes in order to retain the almighty suspension of disbelief necessary for true escape. In our premise "Do the Strand" operates as an outdoor screening, unique and attractive for the social interaction, which is primary to the experience. Also, at the 7th/Market location, the screening will be subject to the randomness of the area, and will interest and attract those who are simply wandering by.
As a sort of touchstone, I see the screenings operating on a number of levels:
A) The owner wants to sell or lease the theater. The screenings could only assist his efforts.
B) A collective is forming to do just that - We, "Do the Strand" are a group of professionals intending to amass our expertise and form a coherent group wishing to rent space at the Strand with the intention to purchase.
--i) as artists and craftsmen we are able to transform the space in a meaningful and aesthetic fashion.
--ii)offices open to non-profits and groups of artists wanting to have legitimate office space for business and also a space for public performances.
C) In preserving the Strand there would remain a landmark of Mid-Market's past transformed into a viable update, centered on filmmaking and other performance art, music, etc. as a type of social media (the new catch-phrase), but redefined as media which is social, i.e. gets people out of the house to rub elbows with one another, and engage in dialogue that's not transmitted via internet.
The artist's role is to provoke thoughtful discussion. See "Defenestration" at 6th/Howard by Brian Goggin, predating my move to SOMA in 1992 by a few years. It has some longevity for one thing. It engages you such that you immediately ask "What does it mean?" but in the context of an abandoned building which is integral to any discussion. An artist asks the pragmatic question "How are these things attached," and other DIY thoughts which come to mind. A cynic may ask "Is it safe?" Mr. Goggin is welcome to join our collective, unlikely though it be.
All in all I see "Do the Strand" as a petri dish in which all manner of life forms may arise. In our era of accelerated technological evolution, I see a great opportunity for intelligent and beautiful lifeforms to be created. They just need the conducive environment.
"Rhododendron is a nice flower, but it can't beat...Strand power."
-Roxy Music, "Do the Strand"
Primary Personnel
Bruce Miller, Stagehand Local 16 IATSE, and filmmaker
BFA, 1990, SFAI, Film, with Spring Show Award
Sometimes resident of SOMA, 49A Moss St., 94103, (3 years)
Screenings at Rotterdam International, Bay Area Now II, dadafest (SomArts), see http://millerbruce.blogspot.com/
imdb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0588007/
Ian Sundahl, Filmmaker, painter, film archivist
MFA, 1997, SFAI, Painting
imdb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1935079/
Zoe Merideth, Graduate student, Harvard School of Design, Urban Planning
BA, 2009, UC Berkeley, Geography
S. Fey Epling, Esq.
U.C. Hastings College of the Law 1997
AB Oberlin College 1987
Ramon Churruca, Performance artist, actor
BFA, 2001, SFAI, Performance (New Genres)
imdb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0161523/
OccupySF 2011
My ratty ass tent next to the concrete ball. Me in the chair?
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Waiting for Kitten
My Christmas present is a hotel. The Sagrada Familia didn't have one. They had the manger. I have a 2 br in Berkeley but it doesn't have electricity or running water. A little clandestine locksmithing and a by-the-book approach: in after dark, out by daylight. No lights, wear black, no visitors. The door was wide open, seriously. I'll take a lie detector on this one. Cleaner when I leave than when I got there, except I am not cleaning up the eggs someone threw at the wall in the other bedroom. I thought raccoons as the window was open, but probably not. They would have eaten them, and not plastered the walls with them.
A dose of bureaucracy today as I forgot my wallet in a locker at the Y, and when I got back, after realizing this when the 7th tradition was called at a meeting, it was gone. No one turned it in at the desk either. What do they get? $23, a bankcard for an overdrawn account, a library card, an EBT card w/ $56 on it they can't use, and my ID. So, I get to go to the DMV, after getting a voucher for reduced rate at NBC (thank you), and borrowing money from a very good friend (thank you Stella). I was all set to 'spange' (spare change contracted). Had cardboard and all, was gonna make a sign. Never done it, nothing against those who do, but it's a step in the wrong direction, I felt. Made a call instead. And then a guy in a work truck saw me walking down to Shattuck with the cardboard I no longer had to use, and said 'Hey, I'll give you money.' Out of the blue. Didn't even make eye contact w/ the guy, I was already past him. So, I didn't have to stile hurdle BART on the way in. The way out is no sweat. Prefer to pay, but in dire circumstances...
Happy Holy Days.
A dose of bureaucracy today as I forgot my wallet in a locker at the Y, and when I got back, after realizing this when the 7th tradition was called at a meeting, it was gone. No one turned it in at the desk either. What do they get? $23, a bankcard for an overdrawn account, a library card, an EBT card w/ $56 on it they can't use, and my ID. So, I get to go to the DMV, after getting a voucher for reduced rate at NBC (thank you), and borrowing money from a very good friend (thank you Stella). I was all set to 'spange' (spare change contracted). Had cardboard and all, was gonna make a sign. Never done it, nothing against those who do, but it's a step in the wrong direction, I felt. Made a call instead. And then a guy in a work truck saw me walking down to Shattuck with the cardboard I no longer had to use, and said 'Hey, I'll give you money.' Out of the blue. Didn't even make eye contact w/ the guy, I was already past him. So, I didn't have to stile hurdle BART on the way in. The way out is no sweat. Prefer to pay, but in dire circumstances...
Happy Holy Days.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Occupy Berkeley is the shit
When I lived here, I really did not like Berkeley. 4 flavors of cops: UC, BPD, BART, and AC transit (true: they gave my gf a $250 ticket for pulling over in a bus zone just long enough to let me out). The buses are strict as hell, as opposed to MUNI that I can ride all day on one paper xfer or hop on via backdoor. And Berkeley is laid-back/uptight: PC Nazis enforcing their aroma-free vegan free-trade Birkenstock patchouli oil manifestos written on repurposed hemp paper. And I sometimes hate the smell of ganj. Not my D.O.C.
But Occupy has an SF refugee tent where I recognize and know a growing number of true Occupiers. There's sunshine. All day long, not 9:30 to 11 am. No prob w/ an open flame. Thus coffee. Running water at the fountain. Grass where you can pound in your tent stakes. Get it, Justin Herman aka Bradley Manning aka Occupy SF? You're defending a Bocce ball court from its proper use. You're two blocks away from the real enemy the Fed at 101 Market. You cockblocked us on the Mission space, which is only 20 blocks away. A 10-minute 14 bus ride away or a half hour walk. Sunny Mish. Cute chix, coffee shops. It's the barrio? You gotta be kidding. It's gentrified. A base of operations...nevermind. So done with the General Assembly which has the vote what direction Occupy takes, because only they can sit through their interminable meetings where nothing gets accomplished in 5 hours of infighting and backstabbing.
I support Occupy, but it's hard enough being on the streets without being a hunger artist/petri dish for contagion of the week. I need amenities: sunshine, coffee, place to leave my shit where it doesn't walk.
Berkeley Occupy. It's the shit.
But Occupy has an SF refugee tent where I recognize and know a growing number of true Occupiers. There's sunshine. All day long, not 9:30 to 11 am. No prob w/ an open flame. Thus coffee. Running water at the fountain. Grass where you can pound in your tent stakes. Get it, Justin Herman aka Bradley Manning aka Occupy SF? You're defending a Bocce ball court from its proper use. You're two blocks away from the real enemy the Fed at 101 Market. You cockblocked us on the Mission space, which is only 20 blocks away. A 10-minute 14 bus ride away or a half hour walk. Sunny Mish. Cute chix, coffee shops. It's the barrio? You gotta be kidding. It's gentrified. A base of operations...nevermind. So done with the General Assembly which has the vote what direction Occupy takes, because only they can sit through their interminable meetings where nothing gets accomplished in 5 hours of infighting and backstabbing.
I support Occupy, but it's hard enough being on the streets without being a hunger artist/petri dish for contagion of the week. I need amenities: sunshine, coffee, place to leave my shit where it doesn't walk.
Berkeley Occupy. It's the shit.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Why I bother
I was not at Occupy (still am because Occupy is of the mind) because I wanted to get arrested and earn my Liberal Scout merit badge, nor to get beat up by the fuzz and thus alleviate my white guilt. I was there because I got evicted when I told the No. Beach Italian mafia fuck what to do with his cockroach-infested hotel. He called the cops. I was 'threatening'.
A better reason would have been that I was disgusted when I see that moneys that should be spent on my children's education, and in preserving decent and affordable homes for myself and for them (not one and the same, alas) is used to bail out a corrupt banking system and to fund wars over shit I really do not give a rat's ass about (fighting a war over the WTC is about as useful as fighting the cause of Katrina. Less perhaps, because a bulldozer building levees is tangible, not pseudo-ideological masking cultural/religious conflict). And the other motive, oil; well, let's not go there, Texan. I refused to put oil in my car the last 10K miles because I wanted it to die, die. They built some stout MFing beasts in the late 60s - it was a V7 at the end, smoking like a shithouse on fire when I sold it for 5 times what my dad paid when I was 15. (Want a good investment? Classic cars, fivefold profit in 30 years. No, nevermind, won't be gas in 30 years, n'shallah). Infernal combustion engine. Hitler admired Ford's assembly line process for volume production and adopted his methodologies for his own nefarious ways. The feelings were mutual if you read the Deerborn Gazette between the wars.
But back to the bailout. Someone in the sauna at the Y was saying 'The banks will pay back the money, if they haven't already.' "Um," I chimed in finally, ""but what about the wreckage?" I saw a family of five yesterday carrying their belongings, the youngest theirs in pillow-cases that must have come from their beds. When they had beds. I am beyond crying. I am pissed.
Too big to fail - was that the catchphrase for a minute? Why not - utter chaos? The iceberg vs. the ship of fools aka the System? I'm for the iceberg, which broke off due to climate change, btw. I'm fine with chaos; I live in its offal everyday. Our hopes are that chaos will lead to Anarchy, which is, in fact, Order. Without rule. Who said anything about disorder? Interdependent collectives organized loosely around skills and interests, a free interchange of commodities, values precipitated upon local supply and demand, without currency other than intrinsic value determined in a bartering dynamic. Your paper ain't shit, unless I like the pictures on it or need to wipe my ass.
To continue with the paradox that Anarchy is Order, Proudhon's enigmatic statement: I deny myself the benefits of the coosh life - is that not an almost ascetic self-discipline? If you've read thus far, you realize my intelligence, perhaps to the conclusions you are averse, but nonetheless recognize the empirical and salient points. Capitalism, on the other hand, is the real clustrus fornicatus, everyone reaching hand-over-fist to rake in as much from the pot that they can get - it's a dog-eat-dog world and a rat race to boot. The rats won, haha. (Darwin was misinterpreted and one should read P. Kropotkin's "Mutual Aid" as a eupeptic.)
And my fellow Merkins, we are a role model to the world, Hollywood showing how sexy a stretch limo Hum-V is pulling up to the pat-ourselves-on-the-back awards for producing monoculture.
If I speak in the terms of an overeducated liberal, I apologize, but I do believe that one should speak to one's audience in their own language, as did that ponce Baudelaire when he said, at the end of To the Reader
, "You know him, reader, this exquisite monster,
-Hypocrite reader,-my likeness,-my brother!"
A better reason would have been that I was disgusted when I see that moneys that should be spent on my children's education, and in preserving decent and affordable homes for myself and for them (not one and the same, alas) is used to bail out a corrupt banking system and to fund wars over shit I really do not give a rat's ass about (fighting a war over the WTC is about as useful as fighting the cause of Katrina. Less perhaps, because a bulldozer building levees is tangible, not pseudo-ideological masking cultural/religious conflict). And the other motive, oil; well, let's not go there, Texan. I refused to put oil in my car the last 10K miles because I wanted it to die, die. They built some stout MFing beasts in the late 60s - it was a V7 at the end, smoking like a shithouse on fire when I sold it for 5 times what my dad paid when I was 15. (Want a good investment? Classic cars, fivefold profit in 30 years. No, nevermind, won't be gas in 30 years, n'shallah). Infernal combustion engine. Hitler admired Ford's assembly line process for volume production and adopted his methodologies for his own nefarious ways. The feelings were mutual if you read the Deerborn Gazette between the wars.
But back to the bailout. Someone in the sauna at the Y was saying 'The banks will pay back the money, if they haven't already.' "Um," I chimed in finally, ""but what about the wreckage?" I saw a family of five yesterday carrying their belongings, the youngest theirs in pillow-cases that must have come from their beds. When they had beds. I am beyond crying. I am pissed.
Too big to fail - was that the catchphrase for a minute? Why not - utter chaos? The iceberg vs. the ship of fools aka the System? I'm for the iceberg, which broke off due to climate change, btw. I'm fine with chaos; I live in its offal everyday. Our hopes are that chaos will lead to Anarchy, which is, in fact, Order. Without rule. Who said anything about disorder? Interdependent collectives organized loosely around skills and interests, a free interchange of commodities, values precipitated upon local supply and demand, without currency other than intrinsic value determined in a bartering dynamic. Your paper ain't shit, unless I like the pictures on it or need to wipe my ass.
To continue with the paradox that Anarchy is Order, Proudhon's enigmatic statement: I deny myself the benefits of the coosh life - is that not an almost ascetic self-discipline? If you've read thus far, you realize my intelligence, perhaps to the conclusions you are averse, but nonetheless recognize the empirical and salient points. Capitalism, on the other hand, is the real clustrus fornicatus, everyone reaching hand-over-fist to rake in as much from the pot that they can get - it's a dog-eat-dog world and a rat race to boot. The rats won, haha. (Darwin was misinterpreted and one should read P. Kropotkin's "Mutual Aid" as a eupeptic.)
And my fellow Merkins, we are a role model to the world, Hollywood showing how sexy a stretch limo Hum-V is pulling up to the pat-ourselves-on-the-back awards for producing monoculture.
If I speak in the terms of an overeducated liberal, I apologize, but I do believe that one should speak to one's audience in their own language, as did that ponce Baudelaire when he said, at the end of To the Reader
, "You know him, reader, this exquisite monster,
-Hypocrite reader,-my likeness,-my brother!"
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Suss the sitch
"An unsecured vacant building can be a hazard to the community, and it is important that as a member of the community one takes the time to check out these buildings to make sure that everything is fine. While some people say that one should contact the police to check out such buildings, I believe that they should not be bothered with such small matters when they have so many important things to worry about."
I concur. While the writer, homesnotjailssf.org advises that doors can sometimes get 'stuck' and to use appropriate tools to free up that bothersome door as well. I carry a Gator socket and wrench, a pair of channel locks, a C-wrench, and a two-in-one screwdriver. One should also verify the integrity of the security by means of a simple window check, and it may also be necessary to assure proper fire escape functioning with a lasso-type pull-down method. I use a 1 1/2" nut tied to climbing rope for these purposes. So as not to disturb any neighbors, the pull-down is usually accompanied at a time when other noises are more prevalent, say when a rush of traffic is passing by or, depending on the neighborhood, when the bars are closing and rowdies are busy being rude, loud and attracting their own attention.
Luckilly, my job is training me this week on fall-protection and rigging. I am now comfortable on a truss 30' in the air and in tieing knots while 'at height'. Bowline sure, trucker's hitch, figure eight and clove. I always wear black, not because I went to art school, but that it is mandatory in my profession. We want to 'blend in,' not be seen. I like how my profession and my hobbies dovetail.
All the best,
Brujo
I concur. While the writer, homesnotjailssf.org advises that doors can sometimes get 'stuck' and to use appropriate tools to free up that bothersome door as well. I carry a Gator socket and wrench, a pair of channel locks, a C-wrench, and a two-in-one screwdriver. One should also verify the integrity of the security by means of a simple window check, and it may also be necessary to assure proper fire escape functioning with a lasso-type pull-down method. I use a 1 1/2" nut tied to climbing rope for these purposes. So as not to disturb any neighbors, the pull-down is usually accompanied at a time when other noises are more prevalent, say when a rush of traffic is passing by or, depending on the neighborhood, when the bars are closing and rowdies are busy being rude, loud and attracting their own attention.
Luckilly, my job is training me this week on fall-protection and rigging. I am now comfortable on a truss 30' in the air and in tieing knots while 'at height'. Bowline sure, trucker's hitch, figure eight and clove. I always wear black, not because I went to art school, but that it is mandatory in my profession. We want to 'blend in,' not be seen. I like how my profession and my hobbies dovetail.
All the best,
Brujo
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Bruku
Adam, you my main man.
Got my back in yo silly ass hat.
2 Horses, we never got there.
Did we? Truck never came. Fuck.
Stan, you a magician brother,
Made my bike disappear.
Spike, mon frer
Vous avez une certain chouet a quoi
Jonny just go do what you do, do.
Fockin retadded.
Jim you you punk ass punk ass
Punk. You were there.
Shale those books grow legs,
Restless they are, I guess.
Timmy's got crabs! Ah ha!
Hauled some rock reds too.
Dena girl take a break.
I know, I know.
JD. Well you tried.
Can't change them. You tried.
Bo and Harvey. Eternal.
Fedora hat and dog.
Got my back in yo silly ass hat.
2 Horses, we never got there.
Did we? Truck never came. Fuck.
Stan, you a magician brother,
Made my bike disappear.
Spike, mon frer
Vous avez une certain chouet a quoi
Jonny just go do what you do, do.
Fockin retadded.
Jim you you punk ass punk ass
Punk. You were there.
Shale those books grow legs,
Restless they are, I guess.
Timmy's got crabs! Ah ha!
Hauled some rock reds too.
Dena girl take a break.
I know, I know.
JD. Well you tried.
Can't change them. You tried.
Bo and Harvey. Eternal.
Fedora hat and dog.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Positively 6th Street
Slept in a bed for the first time in a month last night. Thank you Christie and North Beach Citizens. Woke up sweating. Odd, but ok. Soft mattress, good for my injuries. Coccyx, etc. The woods upstairs jamming to Ozzy. Also ok. Got my phone back from Luxor. Got an alarm clock. Thank you Zoe.
My itinerary today - report availability for work to Union. Write Union rep email explaining absence for last month. Apply for GA/EBT since I did the EDD thing yesterday. A trip to Tom Waddell or another clinic to see if I can knock out this pre-pneumonic bronchitis aka walking pneumonia. The warm bed made me feel like I am healing, rather than worsening. The woods upstairs (you can tell in their choice of 107.7 - the Bone) cut the volume down around 11 in a very civilized manner. Pink Floyd, of course. As opposed to the wingnuts at Justin Herman Plaza.
I might go on another march but that's it. Or try to get that workgroup going on Anarchist Lit. Except the second survey book I was given walked from the bartering table while I was talking to John.
Took a hotel room on 6th for the week - much gratitude to NBC. Was noticing how clean it is compared to JHP. 6th Street. That's right. Much cleaner than OccupySF. I suppose one could draw out a metaphor that the putrid filth and squalor there are an expression of the disgust they (formerly we) feel regarding the inequities of the System. But I think that would be more than generous.
I do in fact understand the Trash and Burn feelings: imagine living with the thought of being washed out at any time by a huge rain storm, or blown away like the kitchen in the 50mph windstorm (Nature did what the SFPD and the DPW could not). ---A guy, nicely dressed, comes up to me during a lull in the winds, and asks if I have heard of Weather Modification. Indeed I have and I believe it is powered by a massive ELF transmission plant in Alaska and tracked by way of chemtrails. A few bugs to work out, and the Chinese have a certain advantage in the prevailing windstream position...
Then there is the constant threat of being herded in with barricades like cattle. Sometime since my last post, I was still hoping for that Mission space (cockblocked by the G.A. who don't even live there, held hostage by 'interested parties in the Occupy movement'). I did like the tower that was built out of the SFPD barricades in the center, and the golden cow they put on top. So I do understand, and I do forgive. But nonetheless: Hey, hippies, pick up your Goddamn shit. (to the tune of Pink Floyd).
Coupla things I need anyone is reading this: baby powder, crab nets, gack chicken for bait. And socks, and a pack of Camels. Off the booze, for real this time. Might have to attend some meetings. Not kicking and screaming this time - the cold nights and that effing wind have humbled me. More like bitching and moaning.
Thanks for reading.
My itinerary today - report availability for work to Union. Write Union rep email explaining absence for last month. Apply for GA/EBT since I did the EDD thing yesterday. A trip to Tom Waddell or another clinic to see if I can knock out this pre-pneumonic bronchitis aka walking pneumonia. The warm bed made me feel like I am healing, rather than worsening. The woods upstairs (you can tell in their choice of 107.7 - the Bone) cut the volume down around 11 in a very civilized manner. Pink Floyd, of course. As opposed to the wingnuts at Justin Herman Plaza.
I might go on another march but that's it. Or try to get that workgroup going on Anarchist Lit. Except the second survey book I was given walked from the bartering table while I was talking to John.
Took a hotel room on 6th for the week - much gratitude to NBC. Was noticing how clean it is compared to JHP. 6th Street. That's right. Much cleaner than OccupySF. I suppose one could draw out a metaphor that the putrid filth and squalor there are an expression of the disgust they (formerly we) feel regarding the inequities of the System. But I think that would be more than generous.
I do in fact understand the Trash and Burn feelings: imagine living with the thought of being washed out at any time by a huge rain storm, or blown away like the kitchen in the 50mph windstorm (Nature did what the SFPD and the DPW could not). ---A guy, nicely dressed, comes up to me during a lull in the winds, and asks if I have heard of Weather Modification. Indeed I have and I believe it is powered by a massive ELF transmission plant in Alaska and tracked by way of chemtrails. A few bugs to work out, and the Chinese have a certain advantage in the prevailing windstream position...
Then there is the constant threat of being herded in with barricades like cattle. Sometime since my last post, I was still hoping for that Mission space (cockblocked by the G.A. who don't even live there, held hostage by 'interested parties in the Occupy movement'). I did like the tower that was built out of the SFPD barricades in the center, and the golden cow they put on top. So I do understand, and I do forgive. But nonetheless: Hey, hippies, pick up your Goddamn shit. (to the tune of Pink Floyd).
Coupla things I need anyone is reading this: baby powder, crab nets, gack chicken for bait. And socks, and a pack of Camels. Off the booze, for real this time. Might have to attend some meetings. Not kicking and screaming this time - the cold nights and that effing wind have humbled me. More like bitching and moaning.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Last day at JHP
More barricades, an offer from the City to relocate at 16th/Mission in an old schoolyard. Looks pretty compound-like from the satellite. A lot of resistance in the camp about going/staying the course. No drugs, no alcohol. No minors. Fine by me. But all the weedheads said they won't go if they don't get to puff. Fine, don't go. Wait for the batons.
I have so little in common with Occupy regulars. Don't smoke pot, hate badly played acoustic, not much for dogs. Slept best as I could through the GA meeting last night. No need to go, see people with their goofy little hand-signs. My mind's made up. I'm going to to the Mission, unless the Adamant ones raise a stink again and force another delay/cancellation. It's a trap. Definitely a FEMA camp next to cheap vegetable stands, used clothing, decent coffee shops instead of Noah's, Starbucks. If you don't want to go, hey don't go. I would like some structure. I would love the 10pm no music. 1950 Mission. Occupy is of the Mind anyway. Decentralized is fine by me. Virtual even.
JHP is squalor. Trash the place. Pee anywhere you like. Fetid. I hope they hose the eff out of the place, but not in the Bay. Bury it in Nevada.
People mistake anarchy for chaos. Anarchy is, in fact, order. Self-denial in a way. Capitalism is the mess. Dog-eat-dog, grab everything you can...
I have so little in common with Occupy regulars. Don't smoke pot, hate badly played acoustic, not much for dogs. Slept best as I could through the GA meeting last night. No need to go, see people with their goofy little hand-signs. My mind's made up. I'm going to to the Mission, unless the Adamant ones raise a stink again and force another delay/cancellation. It's a trap. Definitely a FEMA camp next to cheap vegetable stands, used clothing, decent coffee shops instead of Noah's, Starbucks. If you don't want to go, hey don't go. I would like some structure. I would love the 10pm no music. 1950 Mission. Occupy is of the Mind anyway. Decentralized is fine by me. Virtual even.
JHP is squalor. Trash the place. Pee anywhere you like. Fetid. I hope they hose the eff out of the place, but not in the Bay. Bury it in Nevada.
People mistake anarchy for chaos. Anarchy is, in fact, order. Self-denial in a way. Capitalism is the mess. Dog-eat-dog, grab everything you can...
Monday, November 21, 2011
Fat Mike Check!
I was serving food last night and heard 'NOFX is playing'. and I figured this announcement was full of shit, but then it sounded kind of cool by the main part, so I drop my towel, and go over. Just in time to see Fat Mike getting his picture taken with whatever yahoo asked him to stand there with him. Damn. Shook his hand, thanked him for coming by nonetheless. Lives here, did not know that. Half the band's in LA. Invited him over to the tents, but he had sushi on his mind. ---a 'mic check' is what someone yells when they want the entire camp's attention - what the speaker says, in small phrases, is then repeated, by whomever, chooses to repeat.
My folding knife was absconded with from the cutting table, along with every other knife the kitchen has possessed. We're armed with kitchen knives, so watch out. Flak-jacket piercing rusty serrated knives, you bad guys in SWAT gear. Oy vey. I'm sure my fingerprints will be on whatever knife Billy Bob uses to hurt that lyin' slut Sharlene or whatever. The site is overfull - they got people off the strip of grass next to Herb Caen Way in order to reseed it, everyone who had to move bitching 'No Compromises!' Yeah right. You want the entire camp to move it, or do you want to move it yourself. It's not just the GA. That's where the tweakers hung out and man filthy ain't the word to describe. Fetid.
I am making myself available for work again finally. I have attire issues and tools to acquire. At least a Goddamn c-wrench. Have my ID. Have sobriety. Alright, holding my nose as I reenter the workplace. Wish me luck.
My folding knife was absconded with from the cutting table, along with every other knife the kitchen has possessed. We're armed with kitchen knives, so watch out. Flak-jacket piercing rusty serrated knives, you bad guys in SWAT gear. Oy vey. I'm sure my fingerprints will be on whatever knife Billy Bob uses to hurt that lyin' slut Sharlene or whatever. The site is overfull - they got people off the strip of grass next to Herb Caen Way in order to reseed it, everyone who had to move bitching 'No Compromises!' Yeah right. You want the entire camp to move it, or do you want to move it yourself. It's not just the GA. That's where the tweakers hung out and man filthy ain't the word to describe. Fetid.
I am making myself available for work again finally. I have attire issues and tools to acquire. At least a Goddamn c-wrench. Have my ID. Have sobriety. Alright, holding my nose as I reenter the workplace. Wish me luck.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The winds of change are blowin but it won't be a breeze
A bit of history: the 'bridge' as it was known was the Occupy area between 101 Market (the Federal Reserve) and the much larger Justin Herman Plaza, which is crammed to capacity. The bridge was in front of the Bank of America building which apparently was built for the Southern Pacific Railroad, which in 1886 won the case which set the precedent that a corporation can and should be treated the same as an individual person. Legalese is not my thing, but the verdict included this statement:
"The Court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which forbids a state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does."
As I understand it, this when extrapolated, interpreted whatever, means that a corporation has the same rights as an individual. I remember something on Colbert about this but I don't have the time or inclination to research this further. I have to return to camp with rumors about an amassing of riot police in the parking garage of the Embarcadero Hyatt. 101 is gone now, they ripped backpacks off peoples' backs, took their belongings, took their pictures, cited and released them. Dude shivering under the Nic at Nite had no socks. Nic at Nite is the barter table where you can go for a free rolly most of the time.
I am soon to defy the open-flame law, as I was given a propane Coleman cannister, and found a burner apparatus. Hot water, instant Medaglia d'Oro, a rolly from Nic at Nite. Read my homework, Demanding the Impossible available at http://www.4shared.com/document/c44apGZ5/Peter_Marshall_Demanding_the_I.html
Have a good day everyone, and support OCCUPY however you may see fit.
"The Court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which forbids a state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does."
As I understand it, this when extrapolated, interpreted whatever, means that a corporation has the same rights as an individual. I remember something on Colbert about this but I don't have the time or inclination to research this further. I have to return to camp with rumors about an amassing of riot police in the parking garage of the Embarcadero Hyatt. 101 is gone now, they ripped backpacks off peoples' backs, took their belongings, took their pictures, cited and released them. Dude shivering under the Nic at Nite had no socks. Nic at Nite is the barter table where you can go for a free rolly most of the time.
I am soon to defy the open-flame law, as I was given a propane Coleman cannister, and found a burner apparatus. Hot water, instant Medaglia d'Oro, a rolly from Nic at Nite. Read my homework, Demanding the Impossible available at http://www.4shared.com/document/c44apGZ5/Peter_Marshall_Demanding_the_I.html
Have a good day everyone, and support OCCUPY however you may see fit.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Dog fights and the kittens in the morning
This morning a thin lass with a bit of fuzz on a leash were in front of my tent, the cat squatting on the pea-gravel next to the Bocce court where I have made my home. It does look like litter. How much can their little bladders hold? More than I thought, and the girl did shoosh me when I first approached. (Difficult to get the cat to go. Oh). A good morning trip to intestinal bliss I must respect.
An even smaller one was getting a bit of fresh air minus the bully-dogs that rule the night, it on a 10' string emerging from a small tent, one of the flood plain ones. (The east gravel strip has drain issues that will make your tent into more of a beaver dam). I am the tent next to one of those huge concrete spheres - good signage for a ball court. I put my prayer flag string over it like a hairband. I wrote Welcome to the Circle A Ranch on a pallet set edge-wise and attached the black flag. Get branded!
The kitchen is about to snap. JD has achieved his own bliss in not caring, as he puts out the dozens of sandwiches and preparing more for the cause. Mike the guy who comes down from 101 is easy to work with. No one freaked when we had to move the kitchen to storage. The sink was a poor investment, when your water comes in 5 gallon camping or commercial containers. That went away yesterday.
Woke up to Christmas music. Thought the rink was very loud and...no, it is to my North. I'm confused. A boom box, aimed in my general direction by two guys in a higher up tent, South. I'm sorry, what? I check the time on the Ferry Bldg. It's 8:30 am. The crooner stuff at the Ice Capades last night was so much better. Mel Torme, Blue Eyes, good shit. Pseudo rockabilly Santa Claus is Coming to Town. You know the one. I go give them grief. Pull rank? I just asked if you experienced the non-stop wingnut melee that went on for three days. I think I moved each of those days. Once for the flood plain, once to the com tent, pulled down during 2am raid. Then to yup. 100 Main Street, JH Plaza, SF, CA 94666. Surely no one took that zipcode. We should have it.
Another dogfight. Where's the fucking muzzle? Who took the muzzle off? It's not my dog. (That's a punchline, you know). He spit on me. I remember I do in fact have a dogbite. Three punctures in box shape bruise. Dogbite. I forgot but now I have on shorts so I can have some props in saying what fucked up kenneling is going on. I was hassling its owner over shit on the ground or just being irresponsible. I forget. They are going to be the final straw. Irresponsible dog-ownership brought down occupy. Our unsafe verdict (the Public Health sheet - did you get the memo?) included feces and urine on the ground and a dog disease known as parvo.
This morning, I prefer kittens.
An even smaller one was getting a bit of fresh air minus the bully-dogs that rule the night, it on a 10' string emerging from a small tent, one of the flood plain ones. (The east gravel strip has drain issues that will make your tent into more of a beaver dam). I am the tent next to one of those huge concrete spheres - good signage for a ball court. I put my prayer flag string over it like a hairband. I wrote Welcome to the Circle A Ranch on a pallet set edge-wise and attached the black flag. Get branded!
The kitchen is about to snap. JD has achieved his own bliss in not caring, as he puts out the dozens of sandwiches and preparing more for the cause. Mike the guy who comes down from 101 is easy to work with. No one freaked when we had to move the kitchen to storage. The sink was a poor investment, when your water comes in 5 gallon camping or commercial containers. That went away yesterday.
Woke up to Christmas music. Thought the rink was very loud and...no, it is to my North. I'm confused. A boom box, aimed in my general direction by two guys in a higher up tent, South. I'm sorry, what? I check the time on the Ferry Bldg. It's 8:30 am. The crooner stuff at the Ice Capades last night was so much better. Mel Torme, Blue Eyes, good shit. Pseudo rockabilly Santa Claus is Coming to Town. You know the one. I go give them grief. Pull rank? I just asked if you experienced the non-stop wingnut melee that went on for three days. I think I moved each of those days. Once for the flood plain, once to the com tent, pulled down during 2am raid. Then to yup. 100 Main Street, JH Plaza, SF, CA 94666. Surely no one took that zipcode. We should have it.
Another dogfight. Where's the fucking muzzle? Who took the muzzle off? It's not my dog. (That's a punchline, you know). He spit on me. I remember I do in fact have a dogbite. Three punctures in box shape bruise. Dogbite. I forgot but now I have on shorts so I can have some props in saying what fucked up kenneling is going on. I was hassling its owner over shit on the ground or just being irresponsible. I forget. They are going to be the final straw. Irresponsible dog-ownership brought down occupy. Our unsafe verdict (the Public Health sheet - did you get the memo?) included feces and urine on the ground and a dog disease known as parvo.
This morning, I prefer kittens.
Friday, November 18, 2011
The long haul
Folks, I need a few things beside the obvious socks, water, and a camping-style solar apparatus for heating water (Tea/coffee and warm suds for the dishes would be a Godsend). I, we, need to know this is not all in vain. I finally got off my depressed pity-party ass and got busy helping the kitchen scrub up after the urinary-edible confusion someone had, and evacuating yesterday when NEW barricades showed up, that is the kitchen substructure (shelving, stainless table, cutting blocks etc). I spent the morning handing out food to the grateful as well as those that just don't fucking get it. Can I have two? No, Goddamn it, tell whoever the hell it is to get off their ass and come get one, and there's dishes back there if you maybe might possibly want to contribute. And fucking around on a Goddamn acoustic guitar is a detriment to the cause because quite honestly you suck ass.
I also decided I could share something in the way of alleged expertise by leading a work group on ~Anarchist literature: I include Kropotkin as well as Vonnegut, Angela Davis and Huysman. I am here for the duration. Rain schmain. Falls mainly in the plain. And ends up going down the motherfucking drain. Hey that's a good line. http://vimeo.com/9704178 in case you forgot.
Come see me. I'll be where the kitchen kind of is. Or near my tent Center Street with the black flag proudly hung. As Bugs used to say, "Of course you realize, this means war." Peace y'all. Or not. Whatever. I'm out.
I also decided I could share something in the way of alleged expertise by leading a work group on ~Anarchist literature: I include Kropotkin as well as Vonnegut, Angela Davis and Huysman. I am here for the duration. Rain schmain. Falls mainly in the plain. And ends up going down the motherfucking drain. Hey that's a good line. http://vimeo.com/9704178 in case you forgot.
Come see me. I'll be where the kitchen kind of is. Or near my tent Center Street with the black flag proudly hung. As Bugs used to say, "Of course you realize, this means war." Peace y'all. Or not. Whatever. I'm out.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
RAID versus Black Flag
RAID has definitely won the first sortee. At least a lot of the the wingnut cockroaches flew the coup (pun intended): At 2am last night as I was trying to enjoy my fourth hour of sleep in the last week, I hear "cops in riot gear!". I am unfazed hoping the prankster would shut the eff up...When I reached the end of Market, I saw a few boneheads grabbing barricades to put with rolling trash barrels and doors, etc. for "our barricade". That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard. Trash barrels and their barricades. More embarrassment.
The fights and the theft and the intoxication were not enough, then we have made-for-TV drama when Stan tries to make sense by standing on a concrete stanchion and saying that resistance must be passive if it is to be effective, and this 'barricade' will be about as effective against rubber bullets and tear gas as a paper bag. I am with Stan, believing Occupy the Mind and the Heart will follow, but a fellow protester has other ideas and will not quit banging the green recycle bin enough for Stan to be heard. The cops are half a block away dude. The stick ends up drawing blood from Stan's head, at least 4 or 5 professional-looking cameras rolling. More embarrassment.
I speak to a well-educated fellow from Berkeley, who mentions that the cops change shift at 4. We put together between the 2 of us that if new cops come on, they could tap the old crew for some O.T. and perhaps double their force. After verifying my logic with some members of the G.A., I approach each of the TV trucks to make sure they please stay, explaining my logic of the cop duty change. They seem to agree.
I am deranged by lack of sleep and the frustration of having to watch my stuff constantly. I came back to my spot this a.m. and somebody was literally moving in ON my sleeping bag which was laid out neatly under the communications tarp. ON my bag with a whole park depleted of a quarter of the tents it previously had. I go semi-ballistic and relocate for the...4th or 5th time, involving a modicum of gear, but plenty of frustration.
I do believe there are 'plants' who steal and foment internal disention by creating distractions of a Health and Safety violation nature. Urinating on the foodstuffs in the kitchen. Underscoring the parvo in the dogs in the park in the press. (Thank you Examiner). One may go a bit further to think that drugs, especially stimulants are allowed and perhaps supplied, that there is a 'stand-down' order for boosting alcohol from the one Safeway within walking distance. I dunno. It just seems so obvious, including the person in a wind-breaker no one has ever seen saying 'we' should not go help defend 101 (The Federal Reserve branch of Occupy), that 'we' should' defend our own turf. As far as I know, we're all the same schmuck.
Gotta go, never know how long the 'calm before' will last since we were read the Riot Act (municipal code violation blah x3). Thanks for reading. We need water. SW corner of Justin Herman.
The fights and the theft and the intoxication were not enough, then we have made-for-TV drama when Stan tries to make sense by standing on a concrete stanchion and saying that resistance must be passive if it is to be effective, and this 'barricade' will be about as effective against rubber bullets and tear gas as a paper bag. I am with Stan, believing Occupy the Mind and the Heart will follow, but a fellow protester has other ideas and will not quit banging the green recycle bin enough for Stan to be heard. The cops are half a block away dude. The stick ends up drawing blood from Stan's head, at least 4 or 5 professional-looking cameras rolling. More embarrassment.
I speak to a well-educated fellow from Berkeley, who mentions that the cops change shift at 4. We put together between the 2 of us that if new cops come on, they could tap the old crew for some O.T. and perhaps double their force. After verifying my logic with some members of the G.A., I approach each of the TV trucks to make sure they please stay, explaining my logic of the cop duty change. They seem to agree.
I am deranged by lack of sleep and the frustration of having to watch my stuff constantly. I came back to my spot this a.m. and somebody was literally moving in ON my sleeping bag which was laid out neatly under the communications tarp. ON my bag with a whole park depleted of a quarter of the tents it previously had. I go semi-ballistic and relocate for the...4th or 5th time, involving a modicum of gear, but plenty of frustration.
I do believe there are 'plants' who steal and foment internal disention by creating distractions of a Health and Safety violation nature. Urinating on the foodstuffs in the kitchen. Underscoring the parvo in the dogs in the park in the press. (Thank you Examiner). One may go a bit further to think that drugs, especially stimulants are allowed and perhaps supplied, that there is a 'stand-down' order for boosting alcohol from the one Safeway within walking distance. I dunno. It just seems so obvious, including the person in a wind-breaker no one has ever seen saying 'we' should not go help defend 101 (The Federal Reserve branch of Occupy), that 'we' should' defend our own turf. As far as I know, we're all the same schmuck.
Gotta go, never know how long the 'calm before' will last since we were read the Riot Act (municipal code violation blah x3). Thanks for reading. We need water. SW corner of Justin Herman.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey (1911-1995)
The Volunteer, Vol. XVII, No. 1, Spring 1995Bill Bailey, whose craggy face, imposing stature and gravel voice well suited his legendary career, died in San Francisco on February 27 after a long pulmonary illness. He was 84.
Bill first won celebrity in antifascist circles in 1935 when he ripped a swastika flag from the bow of the passenger liner Bremen at a dock in New York City. Several months later, Bill upgraded his anti-fascism to the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War where, as an International Brigader, he became commissar of the Lincoln Battalion's machine gun company.
Bailey grew up in extreme poverty - his mother sent him barefoot to first grade and he was sentenced to two stretches in reform school, before shipping out at age 15. In his 1993 autobiography, The Kid from Hoboken (Smyrna Press, Union City, NJ) Bailey brings to life the Irish slums, where he grew up, his life at sea, his experiences in the Communist Party, which he quit in 1956, and the ups and downs of his trade union career.
Bailey joined the Marine Workers Industrial Union in 1934, attended the Communist Party's national training school, and was dispatched to a succession of difficult organizing posts, including Norfolk, Virginia, and a sugar cane plantation in Hawaii.
During World War II, Bailey served as business agent for the Marine Firemen, Oilers and Watertenders Union (MFOW), until he couldn't stand sending out any more men to risk death. He shipped out himself, taking part in the invasion of the Philippines.
Expelled from the MFOW in the McCarthy years of the 1950s, he edited a dissenting rank-and-file newspaper, The Black Gang News, before switching over to longshore work. He was elected dispatcher at ILWU Local 10 in San Francisco. Bailey became a celebrity again in his '70s, nearly running away with the documentaries, Seeing Red and The Good Fight. He was invited to speak at Harvard University and college campuses across the United States, and was interviewed by Studs Terkel for The Good War. He played dramatic roles in the Hollywood feature films On the Edge and Guilty by Suspicion. Bill was extremely generous with his time, was supportive of activists, young and old, seeking to make a better world. Like Eugene Debs - "a warmer heart ne'er beat, betwixt here and the Judgment Seat." '
Bill's own postscript
This is the text, undated and unedited, of a letter in Bill's handwriting that he had asked his son Michael to send to T h e Volunteer after he passed away.
Dear ----,
My dad, Bill Bailey, often told me that his telephone book contains the names of some of the best people in the world - people who in their lifetime have done much to improve the lot of the working man & woman to achieve a better life as well as bring peace in this world and a safer and longer life for the children yet to come.
I thought that in this aspect it would interest you to know that he died on -- after battling a long complication of lung problems. For some 21 years he worked in the engine room of our merchant marine, being around and handling asbestos - long before anyone would dare admit it was dangerous or even permit safety precautions to be used. For 22 years he worked in longshore, until he retired, again working around and with dusty and dangerous cargoes.
I know he tried to remain active in helping achieve those political and trade union objectives and if he experienced any bad days it was because he could not be active enough. He was loyal to his many friends and was in pain when they were in trouble & he could not help.
In respecting his wishes I k n o w he would have liked to have his ashes alongside of those brave comrades he helped bury in Spain but knowing this was not possible - his ashes will join those of the rest of his family by being sprinkled at sea. Like he would say, "May my ashes wash up on the shores of the world," and thank you for enriching his life by friendship over the years. '
March 2, 1995
The Kid from Hoboken
There is a biography of Bill Bailey available, The Kid from Hoboken. Extracts from it are available on this site, with a link thru to the main document.
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