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A lot of people are talking about all the pollution that is coming about due to the age of disposable electronics. Basically, they're saying that these products which are designed to fail or be upgraded every year or so are generating a lot of garbage and it's garbage that's very hazardous to the environment and will leak dangerous toxins into our water and ground if put into landfills. While I don't have a solution to this problem, I would like to point out that it's possibly not as dire as people say, due to the fact that the homeless are re-using old technology.       For instance, as I was walking along Market St. today, I saw a bum walking along and he was listening to an Ipod MP3 player. But, it wasn't as if he was using the latest one, or the new flashy (yet surprisingly expensive) mini Ipods - http://www.apple.com/ipodmini/ oh no! He was using a model that was was from a couple of years ago. It was pleasant to see that depsite a hazy delirium from alcohol that was flooding his system, he didn't find the need to upgrade to the latest and greatest item, being more than content to grab the little device from some Mission Hipster's trash and use it for all his listening needs. I only feel sorry for the guy if the former owner happened to be a big Kid Rock or Creed fan.

      Another fine example is this fellow with a cup asking for change, who was talking on a cellphone. But, it wasn't the Sony Ericsson T616 that I use and have talked about as of late, no it was an older Nokia model that actually still had an antenna on it of all things. Haven't seen those around for a long time. But, despite that fact, his "beeeech" as was his companion affectionately referred to on the other end was called, could apparently hear his "dog moldy, skank ass" as she called him, just fine. Crazy kids :)

      Lastly, there is the fine example of the Beige Peddlers as I call them. These are the guys that walk around with a shopping cart through the financial district trying to get people to buy a 15 year old Apple. I admire their tenacity and I know for a fact if they could fine a public access power outlet somewhere they'd be the next big threat to John Ashcroft's America either through independent capitalism or through sheer power of will.

      So, as you can see, electronics aren't making it into the landfills as fast as people think. The trodden-down underclass that people try to ignore is actually saving us from environmental doom through milking every last volt and amp from the devices we so casually discard.

San Francisco's public transportation system leaves much to be desired. This is not really news to anyone who has to take it everyday, since it is fraught with delays, annoyances, and just overall lackingness.       This was heavily evidenced to me today as I was trying to get from Powell Street to 2nd & Brannan. The most direct route is to take the Muni Train. Seems like that would make sense, due to the fact it's a Point A to Point B ride. Well, that works in theory, but in practive the problem is that they have the N Judah train go between tehse two stations. The N Judah line (and conversely the L Taraval) is a line that is just plain, flat out terrible due to the fact it is above ground for so long and runs such a huge distance out to the Sunset district. Why the hell this is the line that is running this new stretch is beyond me, but what I do know is that I had to wait about 25 minutes before a train finally came. But, to add insult to injury two more trains behind that one were there as well.       What's funny about all this (and I mean that in the most sarcastic tone possible) is that I asked a station agent if there was a problem with the N Judah line, to which she told me there wasn't. Apparently if the line is running at all, that counts as a success in their book, since if there are three trains backed up behind each other, there is a problem!       Hopefully, once the Third Street extension gets completed down to Bay Point, they'll start up a new line for that, so that it can run as off time as it would like and the systemwide slowness that Muni is known for can me more evenly distrbiuted for a gentle, constant annoyance as opposed to a harsh screaming pain in the ass.       The buses may seem like they run a bit better, but they are completely illogical sometimes as well. Such as today, I was treated to sitting on a #3 bus to go up Sutter Street for about 15 minutes. The bus did nothing, it just sat there. That's fine if there's some schedule they're keeping and they don't want to run too many buses, but then a #2 bus (whcih runs nearly the same route) came up behind us and left before us. I don't get it. I simply don't get it.       I assume that there are just too many layers of bureaucracy at Muni and that's probably why it runs like hell. The whole system needs a massive overall, because unless I'm going from one side of San Francisco to the other, walking is almost always faster and I can save my $1.25 fare (oh yeah, recent 25% price increase for our convenience. Blah!)

Now, I understand he's under indictment allegedly for murdering his wife and unborn child and I know that he had an affair with another woman, but what the hell is with the fixation of the press on Scott Peterson?!!       I can understand why people are crazy about Michael Jackson in his latest lawsuit. He's obviously rich, famous, and whacky. I can sorta understand the fixation on the now dissolved union between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, although in my book, they're both B actors and in J-Lo's case musician.       But, why oh why is there such a to-do about Scott Peterson. This guy is nobody. He's just some jackass that probably killed his wife. You may be asking why I sound so flippant about that? That's a good question, to which the answer is that there are countless people each year that kill their spouse and no one says anything about it, except for a minor story on page 10 of the paper. It's a sad fact, but people do this all the time. Is it because we're talking about white folk here? Is it because of the brutality of it all? I simply don't get it and frankly I'm sick and tired of hearing about it.       A guy I used to work with was a juror on a murder trial where a husband allegedly killed his wife. Turns out that the guy did indeed do it and they found him guilty. My co-worker didn't get any book deal out of it. All he got was the $10 a day or whatever you get for parking your butt in the jury seat for a month. Oh, I forgot to add that the man was black. I guess that might have something to do with the fact that there wasn't any big deal made of it.       People might say the fact that Peterson is being fawned over in the press so much that it is a positive statement that the media realizes, much to what they seem to want to report, that white people commit violent crimes as well (there's one guy from Texas who has killed about 513 Americans and counting for instance and that seems to get a decent amount of coverage) But before the media go patting themselves on the back, I think that this is indicative of an even sadder fact that they care so little about what happens to people who aren't white that they simply don't report on them anymore. The vultures have written them off as boring and violent and even though they don't overtly state it, this gets reflected into their broadcasts, since the crimes commited by people that aren't white always seem to be portrayed as some anonymous person of that race who has committed the crime and thus inferring that it could be ANYONE of that race who did it, while, when someone white commits a crime, their name is given. I can't remember the last time I saw a composite drawing of a white suspect flashed up during the news here in California. It seems to want to drive home the case that "See! See! It was just this one white guy that did that. White people in general aren't bad!" Hate to break it to you, but most all people in general aren't bad. You get about 3% of the population that are bad seeds and they get sowed as the news media sees fit these days.       Now, I could be completely wrong, assuming that the Peterson fascination is all about race, but it reminds me of the fact that there was that Elizabeth Smart girl (I think that was her name, see jaded already...) in Utah who was kidnapped and it was this huge, nationwide hunt. But when a poor young girl of a non-white background named Xianna Fairchild went missing about the same time it was contained to only being regional coverage within the SF Bay Area. Fair and balanced my ass.       I doubt it will change anytime soon and I don't that all my ranting and raving will do anything to stop the Peterson trial coverage, but something needs to be said, which is what I try to do here.

So, besides Bush's rather confusing "Intention of weapons of mass whatever whatever thing" I think that we're starting to lose grip of reality just a little bit more.       I just saw an ad for "Big Fish". This is Tim Burton's latest film and I'll gladly admit that it's a warm, tender film, which keeps his style, but at the same time is very palatable and interesting. It's a rewarding movie to watch and to see that Burton can return back to small budget filmmaking and make something good.       But, there's this weird little bit with advertising people. Naturally they need to get people to go watch Tim's film and since the Golden Globe nominations recently came out, they're using that as an advantage. "Big Fish" received four nominations, but on a commericial for the film they stated it as, "Winner of four Golden Globe Nominations!" Since when the hell did an award nomination become an award unto itself? Honestly, I think I've seen the ad before and glossed over the fact that they've said that. There may even be other films that are doing the same thing and it's a truly screwy deal.       I think that even if some people got their way and made english the national language of the United States, it would be a gesture too late in the making, since we seem to have forgotten what the words in the language actually mean. Crazy.

When I was at the political discussion the other night, I was reminded of how happy I am that I don't live in Berkeley anymore. You can easily overlook the fact that Berkeley is very far away from San Francisco and that it's colder than San Francisco by the fact that it's a beautiful location up there in the hills and that the campus is, in my mind at least, a very attractive campus.       No, what does it for me, is the people. Of course everyone there is liberal to say the least and they can be a little, well, intense, but people with convictions don't really bother me all that much as long as they have a reasonable amount of intelligence or at the very least, some support to back up their claims. I say this, because these are a lot of the people that you find in San Francisco. There are people that articulate and people that actually work for a cause and get things done, which is something of the reverse in Berkeley.       Yes Berkeley is liberal and environmental and free thinking and everything else that is traditionally considered left wing, but their problem is that there are so many voices talking that you can't hear a single message. Because everyone in Berkeley seems to have a voice and they all try to use them. Seems good in theory, but in reality all this discordance in effect cancels itself out. You can't hear any message from these people except for that fact that they're all trying to say their message.       I guess the best way to sum up Berkeley is to say that it's what happens when liberalism goes bad. Or maybe it's the fact that true compassionate socialism doesn't work well with a centralized government. I don't know for sure, but what I do know is that if everyone yelling about everything all the time doesn't get to you, then the lesbian relieving herself in the urinal next to probably will (yes, that happened to me on Sunday. Not cool. Not cool at all.)

Last night, I had the opportunity to watch a great gathering of three strong voices in the liberal community, namely: Al Franken, Paul Krugman, and Kevin Phillips. These are all writers who have written some very good works that criticize and point out the evils of the Bush Industry at large.       All in all, it was a lively discussion in Berkeley. The only unfortunate bit was this woman named Amy Goodman who spoke in a pinched nasal tone and I guess she's on the public radio over there. She got up in first off and gave this very long preamble that seemed to go on forever with little interest to it. She seemed to think that people were actually there to hear her, when she's on the radio every day or whatever and you can hear her whine for free. Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I was there for those three gents, that's why I spent $15 for the night.       It was funny though, since who should have been the funniest of the guys, was probably the least funny. Franken was not that great. He said some good points, but overall wasn't that entertaining. I can see why he's more of a writer than anything else.       Krugman was great. He had fantastic points and you could see the old college professor coming forth when he was at the podium. Admittedly I already knew most of what he was going to say, since I've read his book, but it was still good to hear him.       Phillips was someone who I was unfamiliar with, but he also had a lot of good points and outlined all the scandal that surrounds the Bush family. His book talks about the dynastic qualities of this family and it's amazing how they've come to power despite being some of the worst and most crooked people ever to grace the face of public servitude, which I might add is what the completely do not do as they are only watching out for their own self-serving interests.       Good night though. Charges you with a lot of liberal angst, which will hopefully make people go out and do more.

I was looking at the articles for this month and they've been somewhat sparse. I suppose that's mainly due to the fact that I have stepped deep into the whacky world of film production.       For most directors out there, it can be a stressful event. For instance, Terry Gilliam temporarily lost the use of his legs because he got so stressed out on a film shoot. And to think, that happened to a guy with production assistants, a personal assistant, and a directing assistan, not to mention all of the folks handling all of the other aspects of the film.       I'm not so lucky. I get to do everything myself. Actor needs a plane flight to San Francisco? I need to book it. Got a strange location to find? I need to find it. The list goes on. But, let me emphasize that this is not complaining by a long shot. It's merely being realistic of the feat in front of me, my labor of love. And, I guess that's what it comes down to, since you need to love something like this to throw yourself at it repeatedly.       I'm also going to start doing yoga, since I'm about 10-12 inches away from touching my toes, meaning I'm about as flexible as a telephone pole. It may seem like too many things to do, but I think that this may be one of those things that keeps me sane. I'm trying Funky Door Yoga in case you were interested which one - http://www.funkydooryoga.com

Saw an advertisement on the side of the bus stoking hte fact that McNuggets now are all white meat. Yay! Hurrah! What the hell were they before? I guess they were something of a brown color if memory serves from 10 or 15 years ago when I had one of those things last. But, it didn't seem to be bad and they seemed to have a somewhat chicken flavor.       But now they have white meat, which a lot of people prefer. Oh, wait a second, that's white meat, not breast meat and you better believe there is a difference. Breast meat is that nice tender meat that we all quest after in the turkey and chicken anatomy and yes, it is white in color. But, because breast meat is white and McNuggets are made of white meat, does not mean that they are made of breast meat. No, my calorie-prone friend, white meat is this foul thing that that the fast food industry has come up with which is just meat that has been bleached out through a chemical process to look white. Sound disgusting? You betcha.       So, that's not breast meat you're eating there, is some kind of bleached chicken sausage thing that's all kinds of other items of the chicken. But, I doubt this is grossing you out if you actually eat those damned things, since who in the hell would eat something called a McNugget afterall? That McSounds worse than deep-fried bleached chicken substance anyday.

I like Sony products well enough and own a Clie, PDX10, and some other smaller items, so I thought I'd buy a TV as well from their online store - http://www.sonystyle.com and it seemed that all went well with my order until I actually got the package. I opened up the box and there was a wonderful surprise for me, in that there was a nice long crack in the case of it. The TV still worked, but the crack was annoying and so, thinking, hey, I spent $450 on this 27" TV, I sent it back in and ordered a new TV.       I managed to find a coupon that got me $100 off the next TV purchase, so everything seemed fantastic. This was going to be my TV when it got here!       A few days later, the new TV arrived and I opened the box. Everything seemed fine. There wasn't any crack on the top, so I thought, super, this is indeed my TV. Ah, but wait, once I pulled the TV out of the box, it appears like someone kicked in the side of it. D'Oh!       I now wish I had kept the last TV, since this one is in much worse shape and I don't know what's going on with Sony. It seems like they're taking the returned merchandise and then shipping it back out as new. I don't know and honestly, I don't care. They only thing that Sony should care about is that they've lost me as a customer. I know have $900 in TV returns waiting that I hope I'll get back from them.       Not a good website to buy from.

My mom had told me about this interesting article she had read which took the world as it is today and scaled it down to 100 people. I can't exactly do the math on what that ratio would be, but they did it to bring into proportion how disproportionate our world actually is.       One of the main items that stuck out at me was the fact that out of those 100 people 1 would have a computer. In the US, we are always talking about how technology is bringing up closer together, but in reality it only brings roughly 60-100 million people in a world of 6 billion closer together and most of those are in the US. Pretty sad really, since the internet and computers, while becoming a pollution nightmare are doing great things to inform more people than was ever possible before.       While I had heard about this some time ago, I was reminded of it while doing casting for my film, because I would get emails from guys that were actually women and women that were actually guys. No, this wasn't some odd transgender stuff, it was due to the fact that the person actually emailing me didn't have access to a computer of their own and had to use a friend or spouse's computer to contact me. You might be thinking, well, why not go out and get one of those cheapie $500 or less computers and the answer to that is is simply the fact that anyone down in LA who is serious about acting, doesn't have any other jobs usually and is pretty poor until they get their big break.       I do like the fact that Hollywood has, in a large part gone digital, because it eliminates such things as wasteful headshot sending (see yesterday) and it allows people to share scripts in a digital format, thus saving paper. But, at the same time I wonder who is getting left on the wrong side of the chasm which spans the digital divide in this move towards a binary world?