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Don't know if you've ever seen this before, but say you're walking along and a parent comes towards you with a stroller and in that stroller is their child. As you look down at the child, something doesn't seem quite right about the situation though. You don't know what it is at first, but after a second, you realize that the child in the stroller is far too big to really be in a stroller. Such was the case when I was walking through Union Square on Sunday. This guy had his son in a stroller, who looked like he was about four or five.       Now, hey, I don't want to judge since I don't have kids and what you want to do with your kids is your call, but there is just something odd looking about a child that big being pushed around in a stroller. It looks like some kind of fraternity prank or something.       Of course, there are maybe potential side effects to this treatment of one's child as I saw when I was walking up Powell near Sutter and saw these two rather goofy looking guys wearing some kind of NASCAR wannabe pit jackets with all kinds of emblems and sponsor adverts on them. Saying that they stuck out a bit in SF would be a massive understatement. But, it made me wonder if they were simple fashionably challenged, or possibly the victims of prolonged stroller exposure.

I'll miss ads for electric shavers now. For those who haven't noticed, you pretty much only see ads for them around major holidays, Christmas specifically, since they're a slightly better option to get the guy who has everything, other than a wallet.       Of course, there are claims going around that using an electric razor will put a guy at greater risk for cancer and other items like that, but those are rather unfounded. My main problem with them is that they just don't work. Being from a couple Mediterranean cultures, I've got one helluva manly beard and those things take forever.       So, I'm more of a bladed razor kind of guy and it's pretty funny all the gimmicks they come up with for even those. The biggest one being the three and four bladed razors. The three bladed razor is all right, but honestly, it doesn't do that much better a job and a double bladed. I think it comes down to your shaving style in the end. What's funny is that as they keep adding blades, they get somewhat harder to use though and I find that I keep knicking my upper lip with the three blade. I fear what the result of an eight bladed razor will be for me, although I'm not that attached to my chin anyways...

I've only been without a car for two months or so and haven't really missed it other than the nice fact you can haul back more from the grocer or go wherever you want when the urge arises. But hey, I live in San Francisco and there are more than enough things to do around here, so it hasn't been a big deal. And, if I was feeling bad about not having a vehicle, I could always go to Montgomery and California at 5 or 6 on a weekday to see how hellish they are.       So, in order to get around for Christmas, I had to rent a car. It ain't cheap these days. It will probably run me over $100 when all said and done, which is a bit more than my flight down San Diego in a week, which is 1200 miles roundtrip. I gotta tell you though, once I got my hands on the wheel of that sporty Chevy Cavalier, it was hard to stay in the drivers' seat...       Driving is hell. I don't understand why I started doing it in the first place and thought that it was fine. I'm thrilled to not have a car afterall I found out. You toss trying to park in San Francisco into the mix of all the road rage and you get a very unfun activity.       In all honesty, it's mostly the Bay Area that's not too much fun. Everthing else is pretty straight forward, like Highway 5, which is well, just straight.       Here's to the boy who has had a car since he was 15 saying, down with cars, down with driving, and up with public transportation!

Don't know if you remember my DJ rules to live by here but I was out again over the weekend and ran into another DJ that had trouble listening to those rules at Ruby Skye. Now, this is a very hip, gorgeous club at Geary and Mason in SF - http://www.rubyskye.com/ and I was able to frogive a lot of the faux pas that this guy was doing, but at the same time, it was really hard to listen to him. The biggest rule that did not follow was losing the beat. His music looped over and over and didn't really change much either, but it was the fact that he keep dropping the beat that made him hard to listen to.       Luckily at around midnight, someone with more experience and probably a helluva musical background came on to take over and he was able to stick to the four simple rules for DJing. Guess what, the guy was great and I wish I had had more of a chance to listen to him, but it was off to other clubs and adventures.       Oh by the way, while the alcohol is about the same price as any other venue in SF, the cover charge at Ruby Skye is what's gonna really get you, since it's $20 on any night of the week, unless you manage to be female, have a low cut shirt on and can get yourself on the guest list early on.

I don't know how it happened, but someone must have fallen asleep or let their gaurd down for a few minutes, because today, I actually saw music videos on MTV for the first time in something like five years.       Even though I had seen them before elsewhere, it was an amazing thing and all the way through the half hour, I was expecting Carson Daley's obnoxious face to come bobbing into an otherwise enjoyable shot of Christina Aguilera. But, this brings up a point that the people there Music Television seem to have forgotten over the years, in that they have been substituting in their "original programming" (if you want to call it that, since I've seen Frat guys trying to sting each other in the ass with a scorpion before) and they have been seriously skimping on the videos as of late.       Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge fan of the music these days. There are very few things that I listen to, but what I really liked about music videos is that they're a small canvas where aspiring directors can paint a small picture very quickly. They don't have the huge financing of a feature film, so people are allowed to try more things and that makes them interesting and more appealing to me.       I will have to find out who the thinking person is that put on that brief glance of music and thank him, although I'm sure he's been canned by now for daring to show music on Music Television.

Mick LaSalle is a movie critic for the San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com and while, when I first started reading the Chronicle about 12 years ago, I found him entertaining, he has become something of a pompous, over-educated blowhard that should really stop reviewing films.       Let me preface this by saying that, in general the Chronicle is very useful to me, since these days, I am able to read a review, go to, and enjoy nearly any film that they give a poor review to, since my opinion will almost always be the reverse. I don't know where they went wrong, but they are a seriously disgruntled group of critcs that have long ago forgotten what it means to simply say if a movie is entertaining or not. Mick LaSalle takes the cake as probably one of the worst critics there though.       What has brought on my recent rant is his review of The Return of the King. He gave it a decent rating, which is fine, but it's his written review that drives me nuts. There is nothing original or introspective about it, since that is what I believe he is trying to do with it and it embarasses the very pseudo-intellectual facades that it tries to wear. In fact, the part about trying to tie in parallels to the Nazis was directly lifted from his review of The Two Towers. While I don't have a copy of the old review sitting next to me, it seems to ring very close to being a carbon copy on that bit.       The orcs are Nazis thing is worn out as well. From all that I can tell, the original trilogy was published in the mid 1950's and if anything it would seem that the forces of evil in The Lord of the Rings would draw closer parallels to Communist Russia than to Nazi Germany which had ended in the previous decade. The USSR was seen as the threat at the time, unlike Germany which was in ruins. It forced an unkown homogeneous goal on all those under its control, unlike the Nazis who had a specific goal. And it spread without control, enveloping and changing those that took in as its own. So, I don't see the Nazi parallels, but more the perceived notions of what Communism reprsented to those in Democratic states at the time.       Anyways, Mick needs to do some research, get out a bit more, and maybe start drinking if he doesn't or stop if he does. His reviews are vapid and overwrought with the kinds of things someone who took too many film classes says when they can't make films and are filled with nothing but envy of those that create great masterpieces like Peter Jackson has done with this trilogy.

I'm getting very very annoyed with the unemployment numbers that are being flashed around currently and feel that some of the things said need to be cleared up.       The easiest thing to clarify is the claim that unemployment has dropped suddenly. This is normal. This si what happens in November-December when seasonal help is hired on for the Holiday spendathon that we do every year. I've not heard anywhere that they're taking this into account and can only assume that they're asserting that this job growth is coming from an upswing in the economy as opposed to simply a seasonal shift. It will be interesting to see what happens when January-February roll around and all these people get let go again. Then, I'm sure they'll start calling it a seasonal change again and to not be worried about it.       One of the biggest things that a lot of people don't realize is what is meant when they quote the unemployment numbers. Those numbers are only quoting the actual number of people that are on the unemployment rolls for the states. When you're not collecting unemployment benefits, or you're working part time, or you're a seasonal worker, you are not counted as unemployed in their eyes. It's a very misleading figure to say the least.       Currently, I am not unemployed. I'm not working, but I am not unemployed as the State of California sees it. Shortly I'll apply for the unemployment benefits extension and then, I'll suddenly by unemployed again. It's pretty screwy, I know.       So, even if they say that unemployment claims are dropping, it can always be the case that people have simply used up the limit of their benefits as has happened to many people that I know here in the Bay Area. These people cannot file for unemployment again, yet they most certainly do not have work. So... they suddenly become technically "employed" and everything seems peachy.       What I would like to see are numbers that break down how many people are eligible to work. How many of these people are working fulltime, how many are parttime, and how many are seasonal. Then if you look at the changes in those figures, you would see if things are in really in the toilet or not.

Apparently the war on terror is over! The threat against the US has ended! Our consumerist lives have been spared! Why? Well, because they caught Saddam Hussein aparently. Oh wait, there are a few problems in this.       I am one of the few, who might turn into one of the more as time rolls on and wonder if this truly is Saddam Hussein that they captured or one of his doubles, which he had many of. It's a strange way to catch a man who was so powerful. Admittedly, evil dictators haven't always gone out in style, as was seen by Hitler committing suicide when everything came crashing down around him. But, keep in mind that Saddam is a very smart and very ruthless guy. From what they describe, this just doesn't sound like the man that they had painted a picture of in the media.       For one thing, there was more than just a thought that Saddam had been helping the terrorists who have been attacking the Iraqi foreign installations. I find it hard to believe that a man found in the equivalent of a foxhole would be coordinating all of that. This man they captured was only armed with a pistol and a knife. That's a little odd for someone who had all these weapons at his disposal. And lastly, what the hell would Saddam still be doing in Iraq? I know if I was being hunted by thousands of troops, the last place I'd be is in the country I used to be a dictator of.       There are a lot of things that just don't quite add up, which seems to be the case with Bush Baby's regime in general. Suffice to say, I simply don't buy it. The man may look like Saddam, but he simply doesn't seem like Saddam.       But hey, let's run with it and say that he is Saddam. So, that means that the attacks in Iraq are most certainly going to continue. Since the Saddam that they captured couldn't have possibly been leading anything, there is someone else in charge and that means that Saddam's capture is probably going to only motivate them to cause more mayhem. That brings up an important question as well, in that what do you do with an iconic figure like Saddam Hussein? Toppling his statues in Iraq didn't do anything to stop the loyalty towards him. So, in putting him on trial, you are given two options. The first is, if he is convicted, to execute him. That has only shown to immortalize someone and make them a martyr. I'm not inferring that these people are int eh same league as Saddam, but just look at JFK, MLK Jr., Malcom X, and a host of others who have been killed over the years that stood for something iconic. Their images become indelible. Their names become legendary. So, the other option, is to put Saddam in jail for life. This doesn't work either, as seen with Nelson Madela in South Africa, who was in jail for 30 years, only to finally be freed and then become president of the country. People do not forget. And when it comes to having someone to be angry at, such as the US, people have a cause. With a cause, a memory and a symbol or icon, people are unstoppable, whether it be for good, or evil.       In the end, all of this may very well just end of being a symbollic gesture for the Bush Regime. It has been heralded greatly now, but the election is nearly a year off and Americans forget things so very very quickly.

I was certain that I new better than this. I know the old addage about mixing alcohols and for some reason decidely ignored it last night.       My girlfriend's wonderful company had their Christmas party at a club called Fluid http://www.fluidsf.com last night. It's a hip clug with a great interior and good music. It also happens to have great drinks, but they are not cheap by any means.       So, upon discovering that it was an open bar, I quickly changed my mind about only drinking beer got a liquorious as to what some of these things tasted like and went for it. I was managing fine, trying such things as the Fluid Martini, which, while fufu was a tasty drink.       After about oh, 4-5 drinks, I was feeling just fiiiiine. I even went dancing, so you realize how loaded I must have been. Coming back from the floor myself and girl sat with the rest of her coworkers who had decided to get some Champagne to celebrate a bit. Why noy, huh?       Now, to saw that I don't remember a thing after letting that bubbling liquid roll down my throat would be incorrect. I do remember some things, but I'm not quite sure if they truly happened, or if they happened in the order that I remember. And, I'm pretty sure that I didn't ride a horse back home, so I'm a little concerned as to the varacity of it all. Girlfriend says I did fine, so, in the end, I guess that's all that really matters.       So.... a little reminder, don't mix hard liquor with, well, with anything.

You've seen it, I know you seen it. It's this little mini-mohawk thing which is currently a fashionable gay man's hair cut. And of course, we all know what that means, it's going to be a fashionable straight man's hair cut at some point.       I am begging, pleading, yelling for people to not get this thing. It has to be one of the dumber looks I think I've seen in recent times and hopefully it will stay in The Castro and not creep it's way across the country because it's going to really spaz me out if I start seeing guys in Iowa wearing this look in five years (that's the Midwest fashion lag in case you didn't know.)       All I ask though, is if you do get it, please don't try to front off that you're cool and think you're shizhappening, because senor, you just ain't.