The Hellraisers hit up Sebastopol on Saturday to partake of the traditional Romani/Gypsy neighborhood celebration announcing the end of the cold indoor season and the beginning of the warmer season of movement and outdoor life. Survival from the winter and the seasonal renewal of life is celebrated at Herdeljezi through the sharing of music, dance, food and community. And there was plenty of dance, music, food...and drink thanks to host Śani Rifati and his crew.
Top Romani musicians packed the stages, including Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hutz, Yuri Lemeshev and Sergey Ryabtsev. Yuri Yunakov & Sali Shopov's Romani Wedding Band with Sal Mamodoski & Erhan “Rambo” Umher, Petra Gelbartt, Vadim Kolpakov & Oleg Timofeyev; the Bay Area's own Brass Menazeri, and more. There were the best musicians entertaining from all over the world for 2 solid days. Even Les Claypool showed up to lend some musical talents. 12 years strong, the Voice of Roma are raising awareness and funding for gypsies in Kosovo and across the globe.

Tuesday night we celebrated 7 of the best local independently run businesses with a little soiree at Anchor Brewery. It was the 4th Annual Small Business Awards and in the house were El Rio, Cole Hardware, WAGES, Hazel's Kitchen, Books and Bookshelves, the Luscious Garage crew and the amazing Scott Hauge. A few past winners came along to party with us for another year of inductees. Andrew and Tom over at Anchor are pretty rad dudes, they even take (and tell) jokes well. Schedule yourself a tour so you can get down and dirty with them. On tap was a sweet variety of brew, but the most popular seemed to be the Summer Ale, the ever so refreshing wheat. This particular brew was the perfect compliment to the cheesy quesadillas, chix nuggets and chocolate cake brought in from Ananda Fuara. I think the traditional accompaniment to vegetarian food is some sort of Lhassi, but everything in balance, right?
This was one of my favorite events because you get to chill and kick back with a cold one and chat with some spectacular folks. Sure, you can chat with Caroline, Richard, Dawn, David and all because they are the face of the businesses awarded. They're the ones with the useful advice - be it car maintenance, reading material, how tos for around the house and in some instances how tos in the dating department. If you're single head to Hazel's for a sandwich and a chat with Leslie, I hear she can score you a sailor. El Rio is always a place to get lucky at scoring, after all they have great bands, shuffleboard and tons of fund raisers, need to score a pet, watch for Rocket Dog benefits!
Being one of those so called localvores, I've always preferred to support my neighborhood businesses. It's easy in most areas of SF to get your food, books, CDs, clothes, hardware supplies, housewares and nightly entertainment from these sorts of businesses. Sometimes it takes a few more trips than going to a mass store, but it's always worth walking into a place where they know your name, half the time they know what you're looking for and they actually take time to give a shit. With the increasing lack of interpersonal interaction I relish these tete a tetes more and more.
So when you step away from this here computer, go forth and patronize that little mom and pop on the corner, trust me it will make your day...and their's.

We're all shaped by the interesting and/or strange places that we come from. But there's something off about the Canadians, especially those from Winnipeg. Maybe it's because of the bitter cold, the fact it means "Muddy Waters", maybe because half the city seceded in 1993.

In Guy Maddin's recent docu-fantasy, My Winnipeg, the viewer is treated to sundry details on the Winnipeg of the past. Part mystical rumination, part childhood history, this is perhaps the best farewell kiss turned film ever made. It's easy to share in the tribulations of the loss of the hockey rink and the missteps of the local government and business community. While fascinating, you have to wonder how much of the film is wild exaggeration and what might be oddly true. This is one of those hypnotic movies you get caught up in, then it's over and you leave the theater like a sleepwalker, pondering your own ghosts.

Yesterday we did our part to get local bikers hopped up on the good stuff, cupcakes and energy drinks that is. We risked life and limb (and heat exhaustion) to hang out at the corner of Fell and Masonic, but we were clever enough to choose a nice shady tree to prop ourselves under.
While accosting riders with said sugary treats and Bike to Work bags (courtesy of the Bicycle Coalition) we actually got some of them to stop. Hopefully their signatures will lead to much needed bike lanes on Masonic, where there's apparently no singal to prevent cars from turning off Fell right into the crosswalk full of bikes, peds, dogs, joggers and the like. It's treacherous, man.
It was a great deed we did, if you ask me - stopping sweaty half clad cyclists and offering them a moment of bliss. Yea, it was good for us too!

Wow, last night City Hall was all aglow with one of the best celebrations of the month. After a 5 year struggle, they unveiled the bust of Harvey Milk...on his birthday!

It was a festive occasion with Chihuly-esque balloon sculptures, servers donning colorful hankerchiefs and tables draped with every color of the rainbow. Copious amounts of donated beverages from vodka to bubbly and good wine flowed freely. None of that $2 chuck for Harvey's peeps! M&Ms, cheez-its and mouthwatering passed hors d'oeuvres from local restaurants.
The ever smiling crowd consisted of all the big players, the Sisters, the Gay Men's Chorus, drag queens of all shapes and sizes, Frank Chu, and the standard politicos. Good on the 'commission' that met every Monday for the past half decade to make last night happen! The entertainment was astounding and joyful commencing with Somewhere over the Rainbow.
You can visit Harvey's bust by the office of the Supervisors, cleverly placed near where people tie the knot, and you know pretty soon most of those couples are going to be gay. Hooray!