I met Pam Pam around the old Progressive Nerve Center sometime last year while she was working for Dennis Kucinich’s presidential campaign. She’s an amazing human being that brings SF Peacemakers to life. She and friends and neighbors take back the corner of Sunnydale and Hahn every Friday night. It’s the most notorious block in San Francisco where frequent but little known stories of dead black men are made. Pam Pam brings a moment of peace to where much violence and blood have flowed. This 60 minute video (144MB QT) is Pam Pam’s story of what goes on down there. Get ready, it’s damn powerful. Btw, I didn’t create this video. This is a rip of a DVD that Pam Pam asked me to make available on the ‘net. I just ripped it and uploaded it to the Internet Archive.
So, so lame. News from Dischord Records:
Many people have now noticed that Nike has appropriated the Minor Threat artwork and logo for a new skateboard demo / ad campaign. To set the record straight — Nike never contacted Dischord to obtain permission to use this imagery, nor was any permission granted. Simply put, Nike stole it and we’re not happy about it. We are not yet sure what options, if any, we have to stop Nike from using our images to sell their shoes, but if you would like to direct your complaints to Nike that would be a good place to start.
Come on Nike. With an army of marketing drones and a limitless advertising budget at your disposal, all you could come up with is a blatant ripoff of DC’s seminal punk rock band’s art? Ironically, this whole thing should bring more attention to how lame Nike is and hopefully educate a few people on the meaning of corporate co-optation of culture. Conact Nike or give them a call at 1-800-344-6453 and share your thoughts on the matter.
I got to do something pretty cool over the weekend. My friend Julian hooked me up with an opportunity to be a volunteer facilitator during UN World Environment Day, which really is like 5 days. My job was to sit down at a table of mayors and delegates from all around the world and be a notetaker while they hashed out the wording on 3 specific Accords within a category that most interested them. The table I sat down at was Urban Design and was occupied with Mayor Jason West of New Paltz, New York, Mayor J. Ssebaana Kizito of Kampala, Uganda, Sustainabilty Officer Fred Blood of Austin, Texas (pictured above from right to left) and a fourth guy whose name I didn’t catch. He was from the mayor’s staff of some new city outside of Seattle which I also didn’t catch, though it does begin within a ‘B’ an no, it’s not Bellevue. These are the Accords that our table worked on:
Action 7 Adopt a policy that mandates a green building rating system standard that applies to all new municipal buildings.
Action 8 Adopt urban planning principles and practices that advance higher density, mixed use, walkable, bikeable and disabled-accessible neighborhoods which coordinate land use and transportation with open space systems for recreation and ecological reconstruction.
Action 9 Adopt a policy or implement a program that creates environmentally beneficial jobs in slums and/or low-income neighborhoods.
Our table was pretty much satisified with items 8 and 9, but item 7 needed a little work. Jason West wanted to see green building technologies mandated in municipal building design, not just a standard that a builder could easily choose to ignore. The good mayor from Uganda wondered why we had to limit this to only municipal buldings. Why not all new buildings, he asked? West was all for it. The Austin guy was trying to be a bit of diplomat about it, stating that it wouldn’t fly in Texas. He ultimately agreed to go with the stronger wording knowing that these Accords are only has binding as cities want them to be. Item 7 became this:
Create a regionally appropriate green building standard which mandates the use of green building technologies on all new construction.
Everyone in the room regrouped for a final group sharing moment. A mic was passed around and any mayor or delegate could offer a last word or thought. A whirlwind of accents surrounded the room, from India, Sweden, Peru, Brazil, Nigeria, Uganda, Japan, Cambodia and even somewhere in the deep south. Only one mayor used a translator.
The next day, everyone gathered under the rotunda of City Hall with their golden pens and signed the Accords. The idea is for each city to pick 3 Accords a year to implement with the goal of implementing all 21 by the end of 7 years. The cities with the most Accords implemented will receive gold stars and the thanks from humanity for preserving it. Another great first step in the survival of the human species.
World Environment Day is in full effect here in SF. It’s a weird mix of private and corporate dollars funding a United Nations sponsored event with 80+ mayors from cities all around the world. All I know is I spent 5 hours last night in a big ass building that had free food, drinks, music, art, friendly smart people and a panel discussion on green urban renewal and social justice. People were abuzz all night and it was like fighting gravity finally trying to leave. I think we’re onto something here.
Reason #74 why San Francisco rules. On the 50th anniversary of the existance of McDonald’s, the Billboard Liberation Front unwrapped a little birthday present across the street from a franchise in the Haight. A billboard graphic was revealed of a pudgy Ronald and slovenly alien created by Ron English whose work was featured in the brilliant movie Super Size Me. Soon after the unveiling of the billboard and accompanying mechanized Ronald McDonald feeding a Big Mac into a grotesque figure, a couple dozen clowns dressed as Ronald as well as a few Hamburglers showed up to pay their respects to the piece. The phrase To Serve Man comes from a disturbing Twilight Zone episode. You just don’t see this kinda shit in Tulsa, and that’s a shame cause Tulsa really needs it. Laughing Squid and SFist has a complete rundown of the craziness.
