It's always good to get something for nothing, and with daylight savings time ending this weekend, it's an especially good time to get free lights for your bicycle this evening from 5-7 p.m., courtesy of the Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Details and locations in the following press release.

By Justin Juul

After attending SF360 Film+Club’s recent screening of Freedom of Space -- a film about the harsh realities of enjoying an illegal sport-- and then meeting some friends in a Safeway parking lot for a midnight skate-jam on some shitty ramps, the only thing I can say is: Why the fuck hasn’t anyone built a decent skatepark in this city?

All the elements have been present for over a decade: thousands of people who would come to a park if there was one, business owners who are sick of calling the cops on skateboarders, cops who are sick of wasting their time, and a huge base of high-profile companies like High Speed Productions (Thrasher, Slap, Juztapoz), DLX Distribution (Spitfire, Thunder, Anti-hero, etc.), FTC and Huf that could easily ante up some funds for a project. And why doesn’t SF have something like The Burnside Project in Portland? Are SF skaters just too lazy, or is there some force working against them? Rather than go off on an un-researched rant about the SF skate community not doing its job, I thought I’d talk to someone who’s been in the trenches for a while.

The Burnside Project in Portland

To find out more about the reality of SF’s skate park struggle I spoke to Rick Dinardo, Co-Founder of the Bay Area Skate-park Coalition.

SFBG: So Rick, my main question is: Why doesn’t San Francisco, the birth place of modern day street skating, have a decent park?

Rick Dinardo: Oh my god, how much time do you have? Before I get into it, though, you should realize that San Francisco finally is getting a good centrally-located skatepark. It’s going to be in Portrero Hill, right by the regular park that’s been there for years. As for why it’s taken the city 30 years to get off its ass and build one, well, that has to do with red tape, real estate, government corruption, lack of interest, and a whole lot of other bullshit, mostly money related.

SFBG: Well okay, I understand it’s difficult to get licenses and land and all that, but why haven’t all the huge skateboard companies, especially the ones that capitalize on their SF roots, why haven’t they gotten together and just fucking done the thing? It seems like they have enough money to at least fund a DIY project if not something as amazing as Rob Dyrdek’s deal in Kettering, Ohio.

Dinardo: First of all, I think you’re overestimating how much money these companies are making. These parks cost millions and millions of dollars, and that’s in places like Scott’s Valley where there is still open space for building. Land prices in SF are out of this fucking world. Whatever those companies chose to donate would be a drop in the bucket in a situation like this.

Also… I don’t think the companies you mentioned are very community oriented. I mean, this is capitalism we’re talking about, and they’re trying to make money, not sustain a community. I don’t think they care as much about supporting skateboarding in SF as they do about making the sport popular across the globe.

The U.S. is playing a dangerous and disingenuous game in the Middle East, Syria's ambassador to the U.S. Imad Moustapha said last night at the Commonwealth Club. Yet he remains hopeful that peace will eventually prevail in that troubled region, saying "we believe peace between the Arabs and Israelis is inevitable."
But first, the Bush Administration needs to stop demonizing and refusing to engage with countries like Syria and Iran and with democratically elected factions like Hezbollah, and to stop hindering peace talks. He said the White House was the biggest barrier to Syria reaching a peace treaty with Israel, and he predicted the Middle East peace conference that the Bush Administration called for the end of November will be a failure, mostly because there has been no preliminary work done, unlike most peace conferences that are preceded by frenzied diplomatic efforts to set the agenda and talk about a framework for discussions.
"We don't seriously believe that this is a peace conference that will lead to anywhere," Moustapha said. "Forgive us if we deduce that this is only about a photo opportunity and about people in Washington, D.C., telling their electorate, 'Look, don't accuse us of only starting wars; we're working for peace in the Middle East.' "

Intrepid reporter Justin Juul hits the streets each week for our Meet Your Neighbors series, interviewing the Bay Area folks you'd like to know most.

I was reading a newspaper in the doorway of Mama’s Market one day when an old golden retriever appeared, unattended, with a happy look on his face. I did the natural thing and bent down to give him a little pat, but recoiled in horror just as my hand was closing in. The poor dog’s feet were mangled and bent and his back was spotted and hairless with huge weird-looking bumps sticking out in all directions. He looked up at me with his cute little dog eyes, pleading for attention, but I just couldn’t do it. I quickly shuffled inside to grab some beer instead, feeling like a dick.

I thought I was in clear as I approached the check out counter, but there at the end of the line was the dog and his owner. I had no choice but to stand behind them and wait for the dog to snuggle up to me again. I tried to contain my disgust as he got closer and closer, but then stepped back and blurted “uh…what’s wrong with your dog?” The lady just rolled her eyes and bent down to give the dog a big hug. “There’s nothing wrong with him,” she said. “Sam’s just as good as any dog out there.” She went on to tell me that she had adopted Sam from an organization that rescues abused canines. Sam had been tortured for years, but was now living the high-life with this woman, Mary E. Fahey, the owner of a dog-walking service called Chattanooga Pooches and Kitty Cats 2. I got to know Fahey over the next few days and eventually sat down with her at her house to learn more about Sam, the ugly golden retriever.

SFBG: So, Mary. Where are you from and why did you choose to settle in SF?

Mary Fahey: I came here in the ‘80s. I was in a high tech graphics company, installing computers and stuff. They transferred me from NYC to Nor Cal and then I lost my job right afterwards. This was in the dark ages, right before the personal computer came out. The whole game changed as soon as I got out here and everything I had learned was quickly becoming obsolete. Things were becoming kind of cut-throat around here.

SFBG: How’d you get into dog-walking?

Fahey: Well I got back into the computer industry for a while and suddenly I was just too old. Well, I didn’t think I was too old, but people were looking at me, like, you’re too old. At this point I had a dog walker, but I had to let her go. I sat around the house for a while after that, just gaining ten pounds a day, feeling sorry for myself. And then my old dog walker asked me for some help and I said okay. I’ve been doing it ever since…almost 15 years now.

By Justin Juul

People with addictive personalities tend to bounce back and forth between incredible productivity and unchecked hedonism. They may spend years diligently pursuing a goal -- like grad school or becoming a respected journalist -- only to risk fucking it all up upon near-completion by developing an obsession with alcohol and speed. Some addicts – the smart ones like Andy Dick -- have learned to catch themselves before they fall too far, while others – like Britney Spears -- simply lose their minds and cascade into insanity. If you spent last Thanksgiving, oh say, coked out of your mind at a house in the Mission with a bunch of people you barely knew (ahem), you might want to think about changing things up this year with a light meal and some after-dinner dodgeball at Dolores Park. You can still have a few drinks of course, but the elementary-schoolishness of the whole deal, plus the physical exertion, should keep you from overdoing it. Plus: balls!

3rd Annual Thanksgiving Dodgeball
Thurs, Nov 22. 9pm – past Midnight, free
@ The Dolores Park Tennis Court
Near 18th ST & Church ST, SF
http://sanfrancisco.going.com/invite-16135

Intrepid reporter Justin Juul hits the streets each week for our Meet Your Neighbors series, interviewing the Bay Area folks you'd like to know most.

Mr. Floppy’s Flophouse is a cluster of buildings in East Oakland that has been used throughout the years as a saloon, a venue for underground raves, a brothel, and most recently as a movie set. It also used to be Jack London’s favorite place to get drunk. I wanted to interview George, the crazy guy who owns the place, but he repeatedly denied my request, stating with obvious disgust that he has no desire to “get his name out there.”

Welcome to Mr. Floppy's!

Luckily, one his tenants, Sarah Doppler, had no qualms.

Sarah is one of those free-spirited traveler types who pops into a city for a few months, makes a bunch of friends, and then disappears before she gets sucked into their drama. Very smart. The following interview took place in front of a bonfire in Sarah’s backyard.

SFBG: So where are you from, and how did you find yourself living in this weird floppy-house complex thing?

Sarah Doppler: I’m from Seattle, Washington and I moved to the Bay Area about 4 months ago. I needed to find a room so I just answered an ad on Craigslist. It said “Female Artists Wanted: $400.” So I came and checked it out one night. It was really creepy because there are all these pianos and statues and about 50 dark rooms throughout the place. It’s like a maze with weird art and raccoons and this huge backyard by the freeway where I can chill with all my homies.

SFBG: Yeah, dude, I just spent twenty minutes looking for the bathroom and finally had to leave when I accidentally barged in on a film crew and a bunch of vampires eating fried chicken. What’s up with that?

Doppler: Oh man, this place is amazing! There’s that saloon right behind my room; that’s where you were. It’s fully decked out with mahogany and stained glass and it’s been there since the 1880’s. There are pictures of Jack London all over the place and my landlord rents it out to movie studios. They do a lot of horror flicks back there. The vampires have been chillin’ for weeks. I got drunk with them last night.

Sarah Doppler, flopper.

By Justin Juul

Vaginas are wonderful and fascinating things, but their exotic complexity can totally mystify your average horny male, the vagina’s biggest fan. You know, you can’t just whale away on one and expect to be thanked afterward. You can’t just poke and prod and pull like you can with a dick. It seems like dudes would realize these simple rules and slow their shit down a little, but by the time a vagina enters the average man’s life he’s been hammering away at himself for over a decade and the transition can be confusing and a little scary.

It’s like switching from a PC to a MAC. You’re happy as hell when you finally buy a new laptop, but you’re scared to actually use it once you get it alone in your room.