Four Loko Brand Reps. Host Flash Rave in Dolores Park, Local McNimbydouche Gets Fucking Pissed

Four brand representatives enthusiasts of the the buzz-worthy hipster malt beverage, Four Loko, threw down a 3 hour DJ set atop of Tallboy Terrace Saturday evening.  Best described as “fucking sick,” the party, between frequent shout-outs to “Four Loko,” “Four Loko Party Pack!,” and “Who's Loko?!,” featured music from the movie Lion King and television show “Cops,” a girl wearing a leather jacket and zebra tights double-fisting Pacificos, a couple straight outta Cape Cod, scores of dancing hipsters and one adorably pissed-off puppy:

Of course, the highlight of the party was the sideline dancers:

Inevitably, Local NcMimbydouche called the police to have the fun shut down.  Five squad cars and one police van rolled up to Dolores, assembled in attack formation and shut it down.

    

To the SFPD's credit, they actually seemed quite friendly and reasonable; not giving the DJs a hard time.  In the midst of the police “dealing with the situation,” Local McNimbydouche (pictured below) crawled out of his palace of boredom wearing his Yale sweatshirt and sweatpants to walk up to the police and DJs, point some fingers, and generally act like the stereotypical neighborhood asshole who believes he owns the park because he lives across the street.

In short, great party, fuck that dude.

UPDATE: in related news, check out “Man Gets 'Way Gone' at Four Loko Flash Dance in Dolores Park

If you do anything this weekend, DO THIS.

For those of you who care, sorry I haven't posted here in a dog's age. I got kind of caught up with the whole moving-to-Oakland-and-starting-at-a-new-school thing, and I've also kind of been on a monthlong Four Loko bender. It's truly the devil's juice. Anyway though, this (sure to be awesome) skate video is showing at the Victoria Theatre on 16th & Capp on Sunday night at 7:30. 

I think everyone should go. Even if you don't care about skateboarding, you should go anyway because some of the guys in it are cute. 

And if you're still unconvinced because you don't care about skateboarding OR cute boys, then … um, what's wrong with you? One man, five syllables: Kevin “Spanky” Long. Swooooon.

Toad & Salmon's Chilibowl 6 + Other crap to do this weekend

If you missed last year's Chilibowl at Potrero del Sol, it was 'fucking tight' and definitely worth checking out this year.  To quote what I wrote about the occasion last summer:

The Chilibowl was an incredible way to squander away a Saturday afternoon: water balloons full of beer, a blood geyser coming out of a guy’s head, filthy jokes from the announcers, a punk band playing awesome songs like “you are dead, motherfucker” and “crack on Mission St.” within a few dozen yards of a playground full of children, and, of course, skateboarding.

That's right, not only is the Chilibowl full of shittalking and blood, it's at Potrero del Sol, which is just like Dolores Park without the cops, trash and whiny neighbors.  If you want to get psyched up for a good time, check out this crappy iPhone video I shot + edited last year with some weak-ass Dan the Automator track dumped on top of it:

If skateboarding sounds like too much fun and you'd rather do more of the same old shit, a bunch of local businesses are shutting down 18th from Dolores to Guerrero so you can drink wine and eat food on the pavement near Dolores Park, as opposed to the urine-soaked grass you usually enjoy.  (link)

"Remember who yo friends!"

I may be an entitled self-righteous cracker, but I'd rather be that than this shit eating honky.

I had originally hoped for this to be a post of the “awww, see? the po-po ain't so bad!” variety. Sadly, that was not the result.

Just before going to bed I noticed the flash of red and blue lights from outside my window. In the center lane of Geary Blvd was an asian woman standing next to a dead VW Beetle. The lights were off, engine cut, hood popped, and a squad car was parked behind. As traffic diverted around; cued in by the flashing lights of not one but two SFPD patrol cars, the officers approached her with portable car battery jumper kit. I had my “awww” moment, and grabbed my phone to take a picture in case I later deemed the event 'bloggable'.

My positive feelings and good will toward the law enforcement officers of the world hit their peak as the car was resurrected and an ethnic officer explained to the woman that she needed to keep driving to make sure the battery recharged fully. She then put her hands together, made a bowing motion toward the police and said something with an accent that lead me to believe that english was not her first language. That's when all my sentimental feelings came to a screeching halt.

The only white officer, a short sleeved turd donning a shit-eating grin and the car jumper kit, said (very loudly) “WHO YO FRIENDS?” in the most offensive imitation of an asian accent I've ever heard.

“WHO YO FRIENDS? POLICE IS YO FRIENDS! REMEMBER WHO YO FRIENDS!”

I really, really wanted to feel good about the SFPD and cops in general, and for a split second I did. I guess that was naive of me.  Fuck you honky.

UPDATE: 5 minutes later the same two squad cars pulled over a vehicle in the exact same spot. I now recognize the hispanic officer as the same cop who acted as a plain clothes decoy on my block last week. He, along with about 8 motorcycle cop buddies, were running a scam in which he would walk directly into traffic at an intersection without a traffic light or stop sign (AT 8AM DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE YOU FUCKING FUCKS) so they could ticket anyone and everyone who didn't slam on their breaks and get rear ended the second he started jay walking.

Fuck the police and their ability to alienate everyday people and be complete dicks even when they're supposedly doing something positive.  They are equally responsible for the bullshit 'us v them' climate of opposition between cop and citizen. 

The Muni & Dolores Park Through Time

One of my favorite things on the internets is when old dudes upload a few hundred classic shots of San Francisco to Flickr so I can squander a few hours looking at them.  This afternoon, I had the good fortune of noticing that “petespix75” put up a gang of pictures from the 1950's to the present day (side note: Pete has traveled the world by bike, plane, train and boat and never stopped taking rad pictures).  I particularly dug all his photos of the J Church rolling through Dolores Park because 1) it's always neat to see a bunch of Muni shots from the same location, 2) I spend a mess of my free time in DP already and 3) it amuses me to see that throughout history, the city actually used to maintain Dolores Park.  I mean, fuck, look at that grass!  And flowers!  Hell, there is even a picture of a gardener watering the grass.  I cannot remember the last time I've seen liquid that wasn't piss or Olde English get dumped on Dolores soil by man.  Anyway, if you like what you see here, be sure to browse through his other SF photos (also, he's got some mean Boston photos too):

June 1963

June 1963

June 1963

June 1963

Mission Dolores in May 1963

Mission Dolores in May 1963

Oct. 1981

Oct. 1981

June 1983

June 1983

June 1983

June 1983

(all photos by petespix75.  Each photo linked directly to its Flickr page)

Gentrification

Is Oakland Stealing the Mission's Scene?

Are historically all-black bars turning into hipster dives a sign that Oakland is ‘fucking over’?

Are historically all-black bars turning into hipster dives a sign that Oakland is ‘fucking over’?

The good olde days of 1999 are long gone, Chris Daly’s war on Mission gentrification is over—“La Mission” lost and the gentrifying forces of decades past are moving back—and the neighborhood’s transition towards Noe Valley is cemented (hell, realtors are already carving up the neighborhood).  With rising rents, a fleeing art scene and neighborhood concerns shifting towards public drinking, the same types of bleeding-edge cool that made the Mission accessible in the late-80s/early-90s are packing up their bags and settling in all parts of Oakland (this very blog has lost two contributors to Oakland in recent months).  Well, according to THE OAKBOOK, Oakland is now experiencing the same gentrification woes that the Mission experienced during the dot-com boom:

[Moving into West Oakland is] a trend that started earlier in parts of North Oakland - young white families or singles moving into neighborhoods that had been predominately black or Latino. Gentrification is usually derided by people who are concerned the old residents are being pushed out of their neighborhoods. The fact that parts of West Oakland are being transformed is particularly striking because the area has been the heart and soul of Oakland’s African American community, historically and culturally.

It also speaks to a citywide trend - the dramatically decreasing African American population. From its peak as 47 percent of the population in 1980, the proportion has dropped to 29.8 percent, according to the U.S. Census American Community Survey in 2006 -08. Between 2000 and 2008, 34,000 African Americans left the city, the largest exodus in Oakland’s history. It would seem that Oakland’s days as a predominately black city, with the attendant influence on politics and culture, are numbered.

That’s right, young white people, in search of cheaper rents, better street art and music (I mean, Third Eye Blind vs. E-40 COMEON), are throwing their hands up in the air and moving across the Bay.  What does this mean for Oakland and it’s African-American population?  Well, OAKBOOK is putting together a multi-part series on exactly that, but you’re going to have to wait for it (hint: it doesn’t look good).  In the meantime, what’s happening to the Mission?  With the cost of living in the Mission going up and the quality of weekends in the neighborhood plummeting (remember the days, like, in 2008, when the bars were not fucking packed all the time?), it’s no surprise that there are more fixies in the Richmond and more rocking house parties in West Oakland.  Is the Mission a sinking ship (with Dolores Park being our life raft)?

(photo of the Heart and Dagger Saloon beer garden by Paula Wirth)

300 Hipsters Resist Police Control of Dolores Park

Last night was certainly a showdown in Dolores.  At 10pm, the cops rolled through the park to kick everyone out, only to immediately head out to 22nd and Capp South Van Ness to deal with an outbreak of gang violence.  At 11:30, as Dolores Park neighbor and reader Michael noted, the police came back in greater numbers to finish the job:

The police closed the park at 11:30 with multiple cop cars, sirens, megaphones, etc.  A cop-woman was shouting for 20 minutes straight in a plaintive tone.  About 300 people stayed to protest, and the cops just kept shining bright lights at them until they left… sad state of affairs. The Sept .1 community meeting should be a fucking hoot…

You know what was more disruptive than the sound of partiers? Sirens and megaphones. Egads.

A quick Twitter search indicates there was also a Rolling Stones sing-a-long during the protest.