Open Thread - What is Going on Today?

who is coming to the events (0.00 / 0)

Dodgers suck, the one in SF will rock.

- John McCain

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by: Bob Brigham @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 15:46:07 PM CDT

I'll be at the SF one (0.00 / 0)

Come meet the famous eugene Robert in Monterey and throw a few bucks in the hat on your way in the door.

Dodgers do suck, btw. Even if the Giants are stuck in last place.

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave

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by: Robert in Monterey @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:15:38 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Looking for grants (0.00 / 0)

for a small LGBT library I'm involved with. It's frustrating -- tons of foundations fund the huge orgs with tens of thousands or more, we need more on the order of a few thousand and it's just damned hard to find. Of course, we're largely pretty local, to be fair. Still, I get so frustrated with how little funding there is for local level stuff, outside of a few areas.

I'm going on my first ever cross-country road trip in a few days, to pick up the car my parents are giving me. The trip is going to eat gas, sadly, but there's no way around that.

It's warm out, the dog is napping in the backyard, and I should be doing a million things but really just want to pop open a Pabst and sit in the kiddie pool for a while.

That's my day, more or less.

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by: spit @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:05:38 PM CDT

Yup (0.00 / 0)

My fiance runs a small archive in a library here on the Monterey Peninsula, and the main thing that keeps them going are private donations through the library foundation they have set up. More and more such institutions are having to turn to these kinds of sources because of the lack of state/local support, as well as the mutual backscratching that goes on with the big foundations and big orgs that you noted.

Enjoy the cross-country trip! Even with the gas prices, it's still fun to hit the open road.

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave

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by: Robert in Monterey @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:21:19 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I'm looking forward to it (0.00 / 0)

I get to see my parents, too, which is always a happenin' time, usually involving my mom's vitriolic lefty political rants and my dad asking me obscure question about insects or the classification of fungi. They're pretty cute.

Then a friend and I are driving back to Sacto, camping and being silly.

I've needed a trip for a while.

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by: spit @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:26:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yay (0.00 / 0)

for family and road trips.

I just got back from doing a 300 mile Sacto-SF-San Jose-SF-Sacto loop for a family event.  Not quite the same as driving across the country. 

Best vacation ever was a 3 week RV trip with my 3 sibs and two parents.  We went 9,500 miles in a huge loop.

Oh yes and Uncle Jay's new project with Arianna looks awesome.

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by: Julia Rosen @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:36:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I've done that drive (0.00 / 0)

soooo many times -- my illustrious girlfriend went to library school at SJSU, mostly online, but some courses met down there every couple weeks or so. I think I could do that drive in my sleep now.

My family never really did much of the road trip thing. My grandma left us a little money when she died, and my parents (wisely, IMO) decided to use it for family travel to Europe many times when I was small. So I spent a lot of time as a tiny person wandering around art museums and cathedrals with my oldest brother, or getting my brains rattled around in a stroller at Versailles (so many cobblestones!). I was very lucky in that regard, but it also has these odd effects -- I've never been to the Grand Canyon, for example.

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by: spit @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:49:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

really? (0.00 / 0)

Is there really a family relationship or are you playing on the name? I've always liked Jay. Back when Salon first started (10-11 years ago), he used to post at Table Talk and we'd all talk about the "promise of the Internet". He saw it long before most people. He, and others, convinced me ten years ago that the Net was more than just an amusing past time, and had enormous potential for bring people together in a unique way.

I think the new site will be great. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

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by: tface1000 @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:49:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Nope (0.00 / 0)

I am not playing.  He is my dad's younger brother.

I have been participating in those sorts of discussions with him forever.  They are lots of fun and make you think.  The skills I learned about defending my opinions in discussions with him have been crucial to my blogging.

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by: Julia Rosen @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:59:33 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

We have the SD Foundation for Change (0.00 / 0)

in San Diego that specifically supports local grassroots projects and organizations. Maybe you could contact them and see if they know of a similar organization that provides grants and support in your area.

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by: tface1000 @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:36:44 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Good suggestion (0.00 / 0)

thanks.

It's weird here, because we're close enough to SF that most queer organize-y stuff nearby happens there, but we're far enough away that we aren't really part of the "bay area" if they're focusing local to there.

I've found a few more things to try, and haven't been wholly unsuccessful, though we just got a sizable new bunch of stuff to archive, which sure isn't going to be cheap (it's always a Yay! Crap! reaction at the same time).

In the larger picture, I think one of our longterm weaknesses in the grassroots as a whole has a lot to do with exactly the big-foundations-big-organizations "backscratch" phenomenon. I wish a few foundations would set a goal of just funding small, underfunded orgs that do good stuff in their areas, because it's really important.

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by: spit @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:43:45 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

And what if Gavin lied about cocaine? (0.00 / 0)

I don't know first-hand, and all I have is hearsay, but I have heard from a lot of sources -- and prior to this coming out -- that it's true.

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by: paulhogarth @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:07:42 PM CDT

is so, buy stock in popcorn making companies (0.00 / 0)

You gonna make it to Zeitgeist?

- John McCain

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by: Bob Brigham @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:13:01 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think Daly rocks (0.00 / 0)

But the way he raised the issue was guaranteed to backfire - the media hates him already and they love pouncing on him as well as on salacious City Hall gossip.

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave

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by: Robert in Monterey @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:16:58 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Ditto (0.00 / 0)

I don't understand why more politicians don't understand the potential of blogs as a smut-releasing venue. Now, I'm not going to say that I'd write about that (especially w/o verification), but certainly you could get somebody to write about it. Why bloody yourself?

Shouldn't 3 strikes apply to Arnold? Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3. Life Sentence!

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by: Brian Leubitz @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:31:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Daly was either a genius or an idiot (0.00 / 0)

Chris' statement baited Gav into flatly denying on the record that he's ever used cocaine.  He's never denied this before.  If Daly's got the goods on the alleged cocaine use (which I've heard he does), when he reveals it, it will deal a good blow to Gav.  SF voters are much more likely to forgive coke use than lying to the public about said coke use.

If Daly's got nothing but his empty accusation, he's the one who crossed the line. 

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by: Be_Devine @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:18:57 PM CDT

Gavin totally denied it months ago (0.00 / 0)

If Daly had the goods, the didn't need another denial, he could have just gone with it. I don't know what kind of hand Daly has, but whatever he's got he's not playing well.

- John McCain

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by: Bob Brigham @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 18:24:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

High speed rail meeting tonight (0.00 / 0)

If any of you are sitting there thinking to yourselves "gee, I have nothing planned for my Thursday evening, how ever shall I entertain myself?" come down to San José for an Introduction to High Speed Rail meeting put on by the BayRail Alliance. Should be fun.

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave

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by: Robert in Monterey @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 16:35:16 PM CDT

Why are SF politicos such Wimps? (0.00 / 0)

Daly crossed the line? Puh-LEEZE.

Yeah it was a tough comment. But making it out to be the equivalent of something heinous is just plain stupid. Watching the mayor cry like he did about how mean it was was laughable - given how hard he and his allies ruthlessly attacked Daly during last year's election. And even before then, Daly has always been made into a straw man for people on one side to rally against.

That said, it's time for everyone to sit down, shut up, have a cookie, a big tall glass of STFU juice, and move on. Whining and crying every time someone kicks a little sand in the face shows just how weak both the Mayor and his opponents are.

The mayor can't take anyone on unless he's got an overwhelming advantave. The "progressives" wuss out of taking on the Mayor even with all their stupid laws to make things better for "their guys." Both sides are showing their weakness. THIS is a sophisticated progressive city?

Puh-LEEZE.

--
www.gregdewar.com

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by: gregdewar.com @ Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 18:45:29 PM CDT

It's not so much about being a whimp (0.00 / 0)

as it is being poorly focused.  They are so many substantive issues to attack Newsom on, that to make a personal attack (founded or unfounded) only serves to distract the media and the public.

Newsom will win a popularity contest against Daly any day.  But if Daly can show that Newsom's policies are as vacuous as his socialite supporters' heads, there is no need to allege that Newsom also a coke-head.

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by: Be_Devine @ Fri Jun 22, 2007 at 11:05:10 AM CDT