Where to Watch the Vice Presidential Debate in the SF Bay Area

Some big events are meant to be watched with a crowd (and drinks): the Super Bowl, World Series and movies in general. The Presidential and Vice Presidential debates are also more fun when watched that way. And shouting at the TV screen is acceptable – it might even get you a free drink or a high-five.

Interested in getting out and seeing the Vice Presidential debate (6pm Pacific Time) with other high-spirited folks? I’ve done a little research to give you options (most of which are also good for the remaining Presidential debates). If you know of others, feel free to add them as comments:

Oakland
Parkway Speakeasy Theater – free
1834 Park Boulevard
Doors: 5pm, two screens
http://www.parkway-speakeasy.com/index.php

Conga Lounge (Rockridge)
5422 College Ave
1/2 mile from the Rockridge BART
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/debatewatchparty/gshf85

Lobot Gallery
1800 Campbell Street
Debate projected on wall (15′ tall), donation suggested
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gshf4z

Everett & Jones
126 Broadway (at Second Street)
BBQ, beer
http://www.eandjbbq.com/index_everettandjones_main.html

Oakland Zoo – members $10/non-members $12
9777 Golf Links Road
http://www.oaklandzoo.org/news/press-releases/primate-discovery-day/

San Francisco
2 LIPS Bar & Lounge
1414 Market (at 10th Street)
Three flat screens, $2 beers
http://www.yelp.com/biz/2lips-san-francisco

Inner Mission
3349 20th Street (at Shotwell)
http://www.missionbeerparlor.com/

The Page (Page and Divisadero) – Lower Haight
Three flatscreens, happy hour specials, snacks
http://www.thepagebar.com/

The Mix
4086 18th Street (at Castro)
http://www.sfmixbar.com/

Valley Tavern
4054 24th Street – Noe Valley
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/899093/san_francisco_ca/valley_tavern.html

500 Club
500 Guerrero (at 17th Street)
Four flatscreen HDTVs, bar snacks, drink specials
http://www.yelp.com/biz/500-club-san-francisco

Ten 15 Folsom
1015 Folsom (at Sixth)
Special guests Kamala Harris and Leland Yee, hosted by Obama for America
http://www.1015.com/

Kennedy’s Irish Pub and Curry House
1040 Columbus Ave
Irish pub/Indian restaurant; If they aren’t tuned in, just ask the bartender to change the channel
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/917615/san_francisco_ca/kennedy_s_irish_pub_and_curry_house.html

Kezar Pub
770 Stanyan (at Waller) – Haight
Official meeting place of the Obama Campaign Cole Valley/Upper Haight group
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kezar-pub-and-restaurant-san-francisco

The World Affairs Council (2nd Floor Auditorium) – $15 ($10 with “bring a friend” registration)
**SOLD OUT**
312 Sutter St.
Seats 100+
http://events.sfgate.com/san-francisco-ca/events/show/85065292-vice-presidential-debate-group-screening-discussion-at-the-wac

Mark Sanchez for Supervisor HQ
988 Valencia Street
Beer available
http://www.google.com/calendar/event?eid=ZjEwNWpyYTNjdTN0OXMzdTZpNjQ0ZDgzaW8ganRzODVvMDk1NDk0YWlvczNxZ3FzN3MydW9AZw&ctz=America/Los_Angeles

Eric Mar for Supervisor HQ
4328 Geary Boulevard (at 8th)
Beer available
http://ericmar.com/page.php?pageid=5

Temple SF/Prana – $10
540 Howard Street
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/debatewatchparty/gshkst

901 Columbus Cafe – North Beach
901 Columbus Ave (between Chestnut & Lombard)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/901-columbus-cafe-san-francisco

Tosca Cafe **unconfirmed**
242 Columbus Ave

Dovre Club **unconfirmed**
1498 Valencia St (between 25th & 26th)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dovre-club-san-francisco#hrid:vECgLtiarkaUzP7TvVe_Bw/query:dovre

Argus Lounge **unconfirmed**
3187 Mission (@ Valencia)

Amante **unconfirmed**
570 Green Street

Berkeley
UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies
Moses Hall, Room 109 (Institute Library)
http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/09/29_IGSdebate.shtml

Concord
AJ’s Sports Pub
4633 Clayton Road
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/gsh3c2

El Cerrito
Cerrito Speakeasy Theater – free
10070 San Pablo Avenue
Doors: 5pm, two screens
http://www.cerritospeakeasy.com/index.php

Online
This webpage is a one-stop shop article on URLs for the online feeds:
http://newteevee.com/2008/10/01/where-to-watch-the-palin-biden-debate-online/

Sources: Here are the sites which gave me multiple viewing locations (in case they get updated):
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_results?type=advanced&orderby=day&state=ca&limit=50
http://www.yelp.com/topic/oakland-bars-to-watch-the-presidential-debates
http://sfist.com/2008/09/26/where_to_watch_tonights_debate.php
http://sfist.com/2008/10/01/ask_sfist_vice_presidential_debate.php
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/roundup/43433
http://blogs.menupages.com/sanfrancisco/2008/09/if_it_happens_where_to_watch_t_1.html

Spelling It Out for Palin

Whether you’re a supporter or detractor of Sarah Palin (or somewhere in-between), I found something in the text of her speech tonight which shows that McCain and Palin are trying to draw a clear distinction between the Bush Presidency and what a McCain-Palin administration would look like. It comes down to one word:

Nuclear.

As you know, W. has been pronouncing “nuclear” as NOO-kyu-lurr since our introduction to him (and very probably since he first learned the word). If you want to make quick points with the American public — understanding that they draw a correlation between using language properly and a speaker’s intelligence — and distance yourself from President Bush in the process, all you need to do is pronounce the word “nuclear” correctly. Every time. Tonight, in her speech at the Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin did just that. Something McCain guaranteed.

I have no idea how Ms. Palin pronounces the word in her daily life, and that’s irrelevant. What’s important to note is that the Republican party took no chances when preparing her speech for tonight. From a document in the New York Times whose heading reads: “The following is the text provided by the Republican National Committee of Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech as prepared for delivery at the Republican National Convention,” there are two passages worth paying attention to. Passage one:

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines … build more new-clear plants … create jobs with clean coal … and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. 

Could be a typo, right? Wrong. From later in the same speech:

Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay … [McCain] wants to meet them without preconditions. 

Since there are no other misspellings or alternate spellings in the text, the presence of two identical radical (and phonetic) spellings of “nuclear” is not a coincidence.

McCain didn’t want Bush to speak on his behalf at the convention, and he got his wish (at least as far as non-virtual appearances go). Now he doesn’t want his running mate to speak like Bush at the convention. Currently McCain is two for two.

Tonight we learned that McCain and Obama are on the same side of the nuclear issue — they both agree on how to pronounce it.

Hulu, My New Best Friend

I want you to meet my new best friend (and soon to be yours), Hulu.com. It’s a joint effort between NBC and News Corp (Fox) and does what YouTube can’t (i.e. provide network-copyrighted video on the web). As far as providing high-quality, embeddable content, Hulu actually does a better job than YouTube, but that makes some sense since it’s not user-uploaded content but network TV shows and movies being streamed.

For a thorough rundown of what Hulu has to offer, you can check out this review. Two things to note if you read the article: Hulu.com is no longer in beta, and there is a way to embed Hulu videos in WordPress blogs. More on that last one coming up in a bit.

With Hulu, you have access to full seasons of TV shows (both current and classic) from NBC and Fox as well as programming from over 60 over networks (if you count the different networks on their “TV:Network” page), including: WKRP in Cincinnati (20th Century Fox), NOVA (PBS), Battlestar Galactica (SciFi), Monk (USA), and Welcome Back Kotter (Warner Brothers). Plus, if you don’t have cable (like me) you can always watch last night’s Daily Show or Colbert Report.

There are also full-length movies available, and the selection is just as amazing as the TV shows, with movies like Ghostbusters, Sideways, The Fifth Element and Lost in Translation. The amazing thing is that there are unedited R-rated movies on the site. So, in contrast to network television, the movies don’t have characters calling people “cork soakers” or stupid “mother fathers”, and the nudity is there in all its shirtless glory. If you don’t believe me, watch Porky’s or The Girl Next Door on Hulu.

Where watching movies and TV shows on Hulu becomes similar to watching actual network programming is when it comes to commercials. There is a pre-video commercial and individual commercials at intervals during any movie or TV show, but they’re only fifteen seconds. With a countdown to when your video will resume at the top of the viewer window, it makes them amazingly easy to bear.

When Hulu started testing their site, their videos were not embeddable on WordPress.com blogs. Thanks to VodPod, that’s a thing of the past. Hulu can provide you embed code that works for most blogs, but if you have a WordPress blog, you can find out how to embed a Hulu video on this page. Just be aware that for the “Post to WordPress” button to work as described, you’ll have to sign up for a free account on VodPod. Totally worth it. Because it allows me to bring you this:

I’m thrilled about all the Saturday Night Live sketches like this which are available on Hulu, but my current obsession is working my way through watching all three seasons of Fox’s Arrested Development. I never saw the show on television, and now I can see why so many people loved it. For free.

There’s one last feature worth mentioning, and it’s pretty cool. You can select the exact clip you want to share from any video in their library. Just hit the “Share” button (which appears when you mouseover the screen), and I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out from there.

I suggest you give Hulu a look. I think you’re going to love it.

Applied Logic

General William Sherman once opined, “War is Hell.” If we accept that as true, and give credence to Pat Benatar’s assertion that “Love Is A Battlefield”, through application of the transitive property of equality we discover:

WAR = HELL
LOVE = BATTLEFIELD = WAR
LOVE = WAR = HELL
LOVE = HELL 

Proving Matt Groening’s thesis that Love Is Hell.

Class dismissed.

Fiction: An Open Letter to the Man at the Bus Stop

Dear T. Simonson (Bus Pass #14457),

I didn’t want to say anything, but the way you were looking at me yesterday morning (as you waited for the 7:03 West 3rd Avenue Commuter bus), I was sure you were going to pick me up. But you didn’t.

Today, it was the same thing. In the seven minutes you waited for the bus, you looked at me eleven times. At least. You wanted to make a move, but something held you back.

I’ll let you in on a secret. There’s no need to hesitate — I want to be with you too. It’s just that, as a penny, I can’t come to you. You’ve got to take the first step.

Are you afraid to be seen with me because I’m on the street? I haven’t always been. Three days ago I was in the loving care of Mr. Arthur Middington, until he dropped me when someone asked for spare change. I don’t blame him, he never saw me fall. But that’s how quickly things happen. One moment I had a home, the next I was flat on my back on the cold, hard sidewalk.

I’m a hardy sort, so the wind and rain don’t bother me, but I miss the company of other coins. In pockets we’d mingle, rubbing edges and sharing stories of our travels. How I long for the comfort of a warm, dry pocket.

I’m not made of wood, you know. I’ve got feelings. My materials alone are worth two cents, and here you can have me for free. But somehow that’s not good enough.

It’s not like I’m tails up (shameful behavior — waving your backside in the air like that), so why don’t you want me? Would things be different if I were in the “Take a Penny” tray? Would that make me respectable?

If you still don’t want me after all I’ve said, at least help me find a home. Drop me in a tip jar, give me to a homeless person, I’d even be okay with you throwing me in a fountain. Just don’t leave me out here on the street. You know the saying, “Every penny counts?” Well, it’s true. I count. I matter. I may be a penny, but I deserve better than this.

People talk about saving money, well here’s your chance. Save money — save me. Pick me up, put me in your pocket, and get me back into circulation. And if you wanted to hold on to me for a while, I’d be okay with that.

I know it’s been a few years since I left the mint, and I may no longer be the prettiest or the shiniest, but there’s no such thing as a bad penny. If there were, we wouldn’t be called tender. So why not take chance? The way I look at it, you’ve got nothing to lose.

See you tomorrow.

Signed,

Penny

Nature’s Way

Although I pay no mind to advertising messages (which attempt to control us), I do pay attention to food packaging (because it’s designed to protect us). Best if used by 04/02/08. Refrigerate after opening. Processed in a factory that also handles nuts, wheat and dairy. Like that. So I’m always on the lookout for useful advice on product labels.

Just the other day, on the way to the checkout with my blueberry smoothie, I looked at the bottle and saw three words that have now set me free. Right between SHAKE WELL and Perishable it said:

Settling is Natural! I knew it! It’s not that I’m single because my standards are too high, I’m single because I’ve been fighting nature. You can’t spell settle down without settle, right? Why would a blueberry smoothie lie?

I see us as being like the blueberries in that smoothie. All of them started off expecting to be loved as they were–complete and unaltered. Some of them were, consumed as-is from the field, the container, or on atop some other food. Enjoyed for all that they were, just as we hope to be.

Some others had to endure hardship to become part of something greater. Whether subjected to the heat of an oven or a drowning in batter, they emerged changed at the end–as part of a pie, pastry, or muffin–with their essence intact and their flavor now concentrated due to their trials. What did not kill (or, in this case, destroy) them made them stronger. Stronger in taste, anyway.

But what of the other blueberries, the ones passed over for perceived defects in size, shape, or color? They faced a choice: they could resist change, stay true to themselves and risk being discarded, or undergo a transformation that would allow them to be part of something larger–in essence, to be loved. The berries who chose change entered the blender, to be stripped of their uniqueness–surrendering themselves to become but a single note in the symphony of the smoothie. Or something.

Are we really that different from the blueberries? We hope to be part of something special, but as time passes — and we see friends get married and have children — we wonder if holding out is the right thing. Maybe our standards are too high. Maybe we’re not as pretty or perfect as we think, and that’s why we can’t seem to get what we want. Rather than running the risk of going it alone indefinitely, some of us sacrifice part of who we are — putting ourselves through the emotional blender. That’s settling.

Before you think I take advice from blueberries, I don’t. I’m not a fan of settling. There’s a big difference between revising your expectations to account for changes in yourself (or lessons you’ve learned) and settling. Settling means that you want more but you make a deal with yourself to take less.

Anytime you start a relationship with the thought, “I know this isn’t exactly what I want,” you’re stepping into the blender. If you change to accommodate the relationship, you lose yourself. What’s the point of being loved if not to be loved for who you are? If you decide not to change but give a relationship like that a go anyway, you’ll almost always find that the fit isn’t there — as you suspected.

Compromise may be part of a healthy relationship, but settling is more than that. It’s admitting defeat. Starting a relationship defeated doesn’t bode well for things. But what do I know, I’m suspicious of blueberries.

Originally appeared at Crew.OneSharpBroad.com on May 10, 2008

Hell…

I’m not saying that it happened, but if there had been a phone conversation between the merchant and the musician, one side of it might have gone something like this…

“Don Heller here.”

“Hello, Ms. Benatar. Thanks for the call. Did your agent tell you what we were looking to do?”

“Good, good. We’re hoping to use the song in our new ad campaign.”

(laughing) “I’ve gotten that question before. No, no connection. We opened in 1962; the name’s never changed. Although for a while there our daughter wasconvinced the song was about our… What’s that?”

“We think so. Why wouldn’t it be a good fit?”

“Ironic how?”

“Oh… Are those really the lyrics?… Maybe we could just use the music.”

“It’s not exactly the same problem…”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. We’d still be interested in having you do a concert at the store. It might provide a boost to your career…”

“How many gold records?”

“Living in Hawaii. Didn’t know that. Sounds like you are doing just fine…”

“What’s that?”

“A jingle? I think you’ve got something there. Maybe something like: (singing) For your important kidswear needs, just come to Hel(click)… Hello?… Hello?”

“Hmph.”

Originally appeared at Crew.OneSharpBroad.com on April 23, 2008

How to Rock (Mother’s Day)

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this disturbing:

I don’t think the marketing department behind this campaign really understands the modern usage of to rock. When used correctly, it indicates that someone:

wears something well: You rock that t-shirt.
has performed well: I rocked this exam.
is musically gifted: Those guys rock. 

Unless you’re supposed to throw a rock concert for your mom (“Hello, Davidson Family living room! Welcome to Brendapalooza!”), none of these apply. That leaves one definition, and even thinking about it makes me queasy.

Rock can be used as shorthand for rock someone’s world. Usually this means sexually. Which is what makes this ad so creepy.

I’m all for Mother’s Day, but since I’m not in a Greek tragedy, I’ll take a pass on this one. I’ll just buy a card instead.

Originally appeared at Crew.OneSharpBroad.com on April 19, 2008