The Ice Queen’s New Clothes
More like $200,000?
Palin’s Spending Spree (via OTB)
- NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin’s shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain’s top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent “tens of thousands” more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as “Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast,” and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
Even at “just” $150k, that’s a lot of burritos
I Love the Smell of Carnitas in the Morning
Plebiscite, *any* time is a good time for a burrito.
Allan, I think non-traditional burrito consumption timing is what got me through the Bush administration.
Thanks, SoCal and Central Valley on Prop h8te. L.A., I am severely disappointed in you. I’m not so sure I want that bullet train any more. We’re stopping it in Gilroy, and maybe sending it north to Portland/Seattle/Vancouver where people are nicer.
And you need 2/3rds to pass the BART extension to San Jose, but only 50% +1 to take away civil rights? WTF?
19th and Valencia – Dancing in the Streets
Great video by Matt McAlister of the spontaneous Valencia outbreak of Obamptimism.
Dancing in the streets. Literally.
I love how it just builds into a complete frenzy at the end. That’s 8 years worth of pent up dancing, folks — it’s like we are that town in Footloose. (Inserting obligatory and horrible Kevin Bacon visual pun. Thank you.)
Tonight we dance. But tomorrow we work. There is some serious heavy lifting to be done. (Never mind undoing the damage done if Prop h8te actually passes.)
UPDATE — More street dancing video:
UPDATED UPDATE — Star Spangled Banner on Valencia. Damn.
Mission Street Food — Rebooted
Mission Street Food will be operating out of Lung Shan this Thursday — 2234 Mission, between 18th and 19th.
New hours! 6pm to midnight.
Exciting new menu options include such diverse elements as:
- MSF RICE: Smoked Rice, fried with duck fat. With liberty duck confit, cracklins, shitake, scallions and cauliflower. $7
- VSF RICE: Smoked Rice, fried with olive oil. With breaded tofu, shitake, scallions and cauliflower. $5.50
- ONO KAUSWE: Coconut Curry Soup with noodles, spicy chicken, egg, cilantro, lime, chili flakes and fried shallots. Just like Poa Poa used to make. $6
- DESSERT: Ice cream with “fortune” “cookie.” $2
- The PB&J lives on! (The poll speaks the truth!)
- Beer!
- Wine!
Oh, man, duck fat — that might be as good as the bacon…
Sunday on Valencia
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(Click to zoom)
Vote Yes On Prop 1A – High Speed Rail
I drive to San Jose a lot. Other than getting to listen to a lot of music, it sucks. (Watching the fog roll over the mountains onto 280 is pretty cool though.)
I would love nothing more than to take Caltrain, but it is just too slow. Given the time it takes to get to and from each station, I’m looking at a 2.5 hour trip each way, vs a 45 min to 1 hour drive. 79 mph? Baby bullet my ass. (And it doesn’t stop in Santa Clara — what’s up with that?)
At no point should I be able to drive faster than its top speed. Trains were going 79 mph 100 years ago. This is embarrassing for California – take the Shinkansen or the TGV and see what I mean. My best trip ever? Paris to London through the Chunnel in the bar car. I got more work done than I ever do on airplanes. Plus, the bar car.
Anyway, I am a big fan of a true bullet train (200 mph+) down through San Jose to LA. 20 minutes to Palo Alto, 30 minutes to San Jose, under 3 hours to LA. And one day it will go up to Sacramento, another drive that sucks. (Could the Capitol Corridor Amtrak be any slower through Richmond to Benicia?)
I love the videos on this page of the train whipping by cars on the highway and the existing Caltrain:
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/map.htm
If I saw that zooming by, I would be annoyed enough to take the train. And I am sure we could add a good taco truck car.
Some good analysis over at the Transbay Blog:
Anyway, vote yes on 1A and bring California trains into the 20th century.
No Sandwich For You
Oh, man, am I so jonesing for a King Trumpet.
Results of the poll — the majority of discerning sandwich eaters have chosen… the PB&J! A respectable showing by the King Trumpet followed closely by the under-rated Mission Melt.
May they quickly return to a corner near us.
Hints re next week from Plebescite, FoA:
I just had a constructive meeting with Anthony, though, and I’m flamboyantly jazzed for next week. He’ll have all the info available soon, but let it be known that awesome things are in the works. James the Hater be damned, MSF lives on.
Mission Loc@l H@ppy H0ur
Our friends at Mission Loc@l are having a happy hour to celebrate their launch party!
Mission Loc@l Launch Party
Cava 22 (3239 22nd Street @ Bartlett)
Thursday, November 6
5:00 PM- 8:00 PM
Mission Loc@l (www.missionlocal.org) is a brand new website dedicated to news in the Mission District. Articles are written by U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism students. We’re celebrating the launch of our new site by hosting a happy hour at Cava 22. Come meet us!
Think global, Mission local
http://www.missionlocal.org
Thanks Helene! Hopefully my post-election hangover will be over by then.
(Oh, and their “should the taco truck stay?” poll shows taco lovers are defeating food haters 85% to 15%!)
Sunday Afternoon on Valencia
Sunny walk down and around Valencia:
Hanging on the closed gas station chain link fence. Later in the afternoon it was beautifully backlit but I wasn’t able to get a shot.
I think the high school musical chick peeking around the side is the scariest thing on this picture.
mmm, latte…
What’s up with this place? When did it shut down? When did it open? Not that I need western wear (or ware). But I love the faded cowboy photos in the windows. (Hmmm, then again there was that scene in 48 hours with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in the redneck cowboy bar supposedly in the Mission…)
Heroin chicken…
If you suspect I am really digging Panorama for the iPhone, you are correct. If you see a tall guy holding up an iPhone and slowly rotating in 30 degree increments, that’s likely me.
Mission Street Food Inverted
Big changes for Mission Street Food. Their headline says it all:
“From Mission–Street Food to Mission Street–Food”
Summary:
- They’re taking next week off
- They will have guest chefs (cool!)
- They will be moving indoors, sharing space with existing restaurants (hmmm…)
I’m not in love with the indoor idea, but I understand. Our little MSF is growing up — the lines couldn’t get much longer
I do like the idea of guest chefs though. I secretly wanted dozens of cooks to line 21st in a sea of silver and fluorescent street-food goodness like some William Gibson functional Singapore dystopia. But I don’t think James the Hater would like that.
Mission Mission raises the question:
- “This sounds great, but will the sandwiches be as fun to eat sitting at a table, indoors? Will it still be street food?”
A philosophical debate indeed, like what the sound of one hand clapping? It’s not quite the same, even with the benefits of beer and wine. It all depends on the atmosphere. Best of all would be something that has a big garage door in front so people can come to and fro, and mill about freely.
Maybe they can partner up with Janitzi on Valencia and 23rd — needless to say they could use the traffic, and it’s a nice, big open space. Take out the tables and chairs, and just have a bunch of high tables…
Wherever they go, I want a new sandwich called “James the Hater” with something bitter, like arugula, and with something so insanely hot you start shouting like a crazed son of a bitch and no one can get a word in edgewise.
Burrito Justice 