Transit Woe's

SFMTA to Declare Fiscal Emergency




The SFMTA, the mother of MUNI, will be asked to declare a fiscal emergency. This must be done in order to justify the one-two punch to the gut of Yay Area residents by both increasing fares and slashing service, and is a requirement of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This also allows MUNI to streamline proposed projects by skipping Environmental Reviews of new projects, which can be a long and costly step of development.

This is all being done to deal with eh $129 Milly budget deficit, but its not the first time MUNI has sang this song. It also declared fiscal emergency in 2005 for its $57 Milly deficit, and fares rose from $1.25 to $1.50. Now, the fastpass which cost $35 in 1999, will shoot to $55 in July, but will realistically rise to $60, and each trip will cost $2.00. Dang, that is what I paid to ride the Metro in NYC in August (To be fare, NYC is raising their fares too, but who wants to be fair!!).

I attended a SFMTA meeting a couple weeks ago, in which, it was noted that about 80% of all the MUNI riders own and use a fastpass. This is why the SFMTA is depending on the $60 pass to aid their budget shortcomings. Ultimately, MUNI is just broke, and raising fares and cutting service is a necessary evil at the moment. Not to mention that much of their funding is being raided by other SF departments. Yikes.

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA!!!!!!!! How about a lil Federal love over here!!

Burgerville, Canada.

Burgerville is indeed a place, unfortunately not a town, but a restaurant. The mini fast food chain has a sustainable focus: over 70% of its ingredients are locally grown. The meat used is grown in Oregon, as is the cheese. Milkshake flavors rotate according to whats in season. And the best item on the menu are for the employee's: health insurance. The film below takes you 'behind the scenes' of the spot, but seems more like "Best in Show Pt. 2, Burgerville." It is a good business model though, and it should be the model for all fast food locations. There is nothing wrong with 'fast food' as long as it parallels environmental capability.




Read More.

November, 2006

Sometimes,

Spain. I never knew you existed..

until now.

This building is awesome! Its the new flower market building that is located near the Barcelona Airport. Seems fitting that they make a building that is just as seductive as the beauty of a flower.

Smell the Roses.

Carbon footprint. Grey energy. Being a consumer is like living out the saying "out of sight, out of mind" or "ignorance is bliss". Well wake up people! There is a lot of energy used to make the everyday items that we consume. The image below is just a fraction of the original image, but it displays the amount of water that is used to produce the item listed. Think about it.

Some that are not listed include:

Beer: 20 Gallons
Faucet: 5 Gallons/minute
1 pound of Beef: 1,500 Gallons
1 pound of Chicken: 287 Gallons

Money, Cars, Respect: The Nano, Part Deux

Dubbed: The Peoples Car.

I realized I didn't give you the info that really matters, even though most of my readers do not drive on the regular, here are the details that have hella eco-royalty relevance.


The Tata Promotional Video


The Nano is advertised as getting 54 Miles Per Gallon, but realistically gets about 47 MPG. The second generation Nano's are hoping to reach around 80 MPG. The car only holds 3.9 gallons of gas at a time, compared to 10-13 gallons in the average vehicle, so drivers will be visiting the gas station quite frequently. A middle class Indian resident makes about $3-6,000 a year, thus, expanding the potential car market about 65% to about 45 million people. There are about 8 million drivers in India currently. If you have a lead foot, you can push the Nano to reach about 65 miles per hour, but only if you are driving alone and with nothing in the vehicle with you.
Upgrades include: air conditioning and radio options.

The infrastructure in India is not yet fit to sustain its current car community, currently being plagued but ample congestion and air pollution. Once 100,000 of the already promised Nano's hit the road, current congestion and air pollution conditions will fester past its already fatal levels. In a country where sidewalks and roads share the same space, Indian streets are a death trap for those on two feet. In 2007, there were over 90,000 traffic fatalities. That is 14 deaths per 10,000 cars on the road. In industrialized countries, that number is 2:10,000. So the more people that purchase and drive cars, the more likely this fatal number will also rise.


In Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India, a phenomenon known as the "Asian Brown Cloud" hovers above. This Brown Cloud is composed of dangerous pollutants from vehicle exhaust and developing economies from the entire region. In 2006, the state government pollution board rang safety alarms after detecting dangerous levels of smog components such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, in places like hospital wards. Yikes.

The Nano is made by the Tata Group, which is the Pacific Gas an Electric of India. This company started making cars in 1945 and recently purchased Land Rover and Jaguar. Other acquisitions include a steel company, Tetely Tea, and hotels in NYC, Boston, and SF. Not to mention, the Tata Consultancy Services which hold down offices in over 54 countries. You have all been warned.

With that, although the Nano meets all of the European safety and emissions standards, the entire world has already met its vehicular threshold, and the introduction of the Nano will exaggerate environmental matters further.

EXPAND HORIZONS HERE

Mag's without a bucket list.

While Blender got 86'd, and plenty of other publications are in limbo, there is a group of mag's that are doing quite well. Check it:

AdweekMedia's 2009 "Hot List"

Publication                       Circulation  Ad Revenue
1.    The Economist               786,977      $131.5M 
2.    Elle                        1,124,674    $325.5M 
3.    People                      3,691,819    $889M 
4.    Women's Health              1,196,898    $79.3M
5.    Every Day with Rachael Ray  1,783,542    $97.5M
6.    Real Simple                 1,980,061    $262.1M 
7.    Men's Health                1,859,701    $166.8M 
8.    Family Circle               3,914,927    $375.5M 
9.    Vogue                       1,293,078    $395.7M 
10.   New York                    431,626      $219.2M 

Really? Rachael Ray's mag is 5th? How'd she outsell Oprah??

SF!!!!!!!!!

The Yeah Yeah Yeah's are back. The best way to make a comeback: Film a video in SF.

In the works.

School is about to restart tomorrow, but don't be worried, I have a few Eco-Royalty gifts for you before I creep back into my academic cave. Here is what I have in the works:

- Michelle Obama has some H8r's.
- "The End of White America"
- Architecture Porn.
- Water Works.


you've been warned.

PopCult Round Table.

Here is JT talking about the prep for his 'save the day' performance at the Grammy's. The round table is pretty: Oprah (fine), Gayle (fine), JT (fine), some blonde that they never give face time (86), and Kelly Ripa's husband (86).

My round table would have a few changes. I would keep Oprah and JT, but add Leonardo DiCaprio for some eco-flava, Sherri Sheppard (via The View), Jon Stewart, Melissa Harris Lacewell, Van Jones, Michelle Obama, Mos Def, and Jason Henderson (my Geography teacher). I would have included Barack, but would rather opt for 2004 B.O., plus, Michelle is freakin' Ms. America - upgrade!

I'm going to give this list some more thought. Holler! (Currently thinking of who would be on my anti-roundtable)

Fashion Week, China.

Black = Red.


China is taking over the world, and now the invading the fashion world. I can't wait until H&M tries to rip off these designs. The model poses and group shots remind me of the studio picture sessions in middle school. Oh the Potrero Middle School Days, PH!

Where the Wild Things Are

The Feedbox: A Series.

Tidbits you can share at the dinner table.






Blender goes 'bye bye'. After only 8 years, the music mag is calling quits due to tough times and low sales. It will still remain online. I've heard a similar fate might occur to other publications like URB Mag, and of course if you're in the Bay, you know how the Chronicle is strugglin. http://bit.ly/zbTdL

Italy forces kids to walk it out. As a way to combat childhood obesity, Italy has 86'd the school bus and is instead hosting a program to encourage kids to walk to school. In 1969, over 40% of the kids in the US walked to school, in 2001 it had dropped to 13%. I wonder if that could be linked to obesity rates... http://bit.ly/hA4mo

Ghost write the twit! I was always skeptical about this, and now it is true. Some celebrities hire ghost writers to keep up with their tweets, Britney and Kanye included. However there are some that stay true, Solange, Estelle, and Diddy to name a few. In response to the Ghost writer's, Shaq stated that “It’s 140 characters... If you need a ghostwriter for that, I feel sorry for you.” http://bit.ly/JDAxF

A nation of diva's.

After reading D$'s tweet, I was directed to the new Internet sensation: Obama!!! Obama has decided to open up the town hall meeting to the nation, by providing an Internet-soap box for people to ask their questions. The questions can be voted on, and Mr.PopStar himself, will answer the most popular ones. The question session has since closed. Obama will have to read over 104,091 inquiries, submitted by 92,932 people who voted over

3,606,257 times on the questions. Read further HERE.

On Green Jobs:

"Has your administration given any serious thought to how legalizing marijuana could help solve the economic crisis? We could tax this green product and create an influx of cash while reducing violence created by the war of drugs & illegal trafficking" Ashley, Brooklyn, NY

First of all, I think homegirl has the wrong definition of a 'green economy.' While I am not opposed to legalizing marijuana, it is naive to say that a black market would disappear. In Canada, where the ganj is legal, the government green is criticized for being of lackluster quality, thus, a black market for higher quality 'green product' is still present.

On Public Transportation:

"Will we ever see high speed passenger rail service in the U.S.?"

Larkin, Gaithersburg, MD

California Proposition 1A, voted on in the fall of 2008, gave a billion dollars to fund the first high speed light rail from SF to LA. Politics come into play when deciding the route. There is also the 'baby bullet' currently running from SF to San Jose.

"America has one of the worst public transportation systems in the world. How will you provide affordable mass transit in America?" Jay, Columbia, MD.

Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto.

"Couldn't we take this opportunity to drastically redesign the mass transit systems in this country to a greener, safer, 21st Century paradigm? We seem to treat transit like it's still the 1950s. Wouldn't such an undertaking create more jobs?" SoupandSalad, Collingswood, NJ

I agree with SoupandSalad, however, public transit was operating at its peak in the 1940's and 1950's, when we still had small compact cities, with which public transit performs best. The original light rail in the East Bay was called the Key system that covered 2x the ground that the current day BART system services. It was actually in the 1950's when the nation began to cater to the automobile. The Key system was turned into buses and the the lines that rode under the Bay Bridge were disabled. This also happened to the light rail in LA and a majority of the lines that ran in SF. Here is a picture of Market St. in SF, when it had four street car lines, two public and two private lines. Please, relish in the past.

On Alternative Energy Sources:

"Dear Mr President, I hope when you look at alternative energy sources you will consider the research that shows using corn is NOT the way to go. Will you look into the better choice which is switch grass?" Westbeach, Oak Harbor ,WA

"We continue to force the use of ethanol in gasoline even though recent studies have shown that corn ethanol has many bad effects. Shouldn't we be rethinking this?" Celia, Texas

Switch grass is a native grass that used to grow in the Central Plains region of the United States, where corn is now primarily grown. Harvesting a native grass would require less fossil fuel and thus produce more potential product, or energy. I hope Obama considers this.

And the Wild Card:

"Our food distribution system depends on large amounts of fossil fuels and ultra-consolidation, creating single points of failure. As food is a national security matter, shouldn't we be focusing green jobs on sustainable, distributed agriculture?"

Bill, Cupertino, CA.

Yikes, bingo.

Meet the End of the World.

The Nano is the Indian answer to an affordable ride. It is small, fast, and environmentally friendly. With the perils surrounding the demand for oil, this sounds like the kind of ride that everyone should be cruising in.

Ahhh, but the daydream must end. The Achilles heal of this automobile is simply that it is Indian, and will be marketed to the Indian community. The first 100,000 units have already been accounted for , and the lucky drivers will be chosen at random. The environmental tear drops begin to swell when considering that many of these new car owners where once public transit and bicycle loyalists.

Priced at just under $2,000, the Nano is grossly affordable. When compared to the Smart Car, the Nano doesn't have as many bells/whistles, but it does have two extra doors and costs over 80% less, with the Smart Car starting at $11,990. The Nano is expected to reach UK markets by 2011.



WATCHME.

Food Pyramid.

Artist: Patrick Martinez

Very SF.

Germany loves America.

President Obama is at popstar status. Anything he touches, turns to gold. Put his face on a product and it will sell, but Germany has taken this too far. I believe the tipping point has been found with the Obama paraphernalia and it came in the form of chicken fingers, or in this case, Obama Fingers (?). How does that even sound appealing to eat is my question. This box is just a melting pot of what Germany thinks of the United States = fried foods, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Obama. The fingers also come with a curry sauce, which just validates the bizarre and random-ness of this product. Enjoy your Obama-Fingers kids!!!!!

The Mission Minstrel Show.

Collector geek; music nerd.

The way I learned.



Peanut Butter Wolf is a DJ. He mixes records, he actually spins records, and he watches/collects music video's. I saw him perform a couple years back, and the way he synchronized his set with a selection of music video clips was amazing. As he performed at one end of the stage, the entire audience was directed to watch the projected images instead of PBW. The audience was in a trance watching the TV, and the combo of lights and sound produced a tangible sci-fi moment. I discovered PBW at Ameoba, and cop'd his CD simply because the album cover was fly. Yeah that's right, I'm superficial, and I do make judgement's based on the cover, but I win, because he's dope.

I had to.

Photoshop malfunction, take two.

More like human error, but who's counting. Complex Magazinge forgot to publish the 'edited' version of this Kim K. pic, and instead, *GASP*, released the 'real' picture of the reality-star-socialite. She's gorgeous, but mistakes like this are slight vindication for the common female.

Just Breakfast.

Yikes. This isn't the first time that a celebrity has tried to use their status to get what they want, in a McDonald's (Ashlee Simpson). Pharrell proved his crazy at a Mickey D's in Paris (I think). When he can't get his way, he begins to dance around like a fool. The people working behind the counter ackowledge his crazy, and treat him like any other customer by saying, "just breakfast." Keep dancing Pharrell, because you have to wait like errrrybody else to get your Big Mac and milkshake. Maybe its karma, being in Paris at a McDonalds... breezy.




A.Simpson being a drunk breezy in McD's:

Oh, I think I like this.

What never was, thank god!

Imagine each of these rainbow lines being a double decker freeway. IMAGINE IT!!!!!! Think of how fugly this city would be. Well this was the vision for the Sco in the 1950's and 1960's in order to accomodate the rising popularity of the automobile. Many of the one-way streets in the city were the potential locations for inner city freeway's, Fell and Oak being an example. That means, I would be living across from a freeway instead of the majestic mini central park dubbed the Panhandle. Take the Ferry Building for example, it used to be behind a double decker freeway, and it was pretty much abandoned. Now, think of the FB now, bougie as hell! Can you imagine sippin your blue bottle or dining on oysters under a freeway? Disgusting.

Palabra: A Series.

Cause y'all need to know!!!

Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
adv.

1. A walkable and compact community centered around an efficient public transit system.

Nah, what they need to do is build more TOD's, forget the suburban sprawl -ish.

$129 Billy for Renewable Energy.

PopStar Obama announced that he will be investing $129 billion in renewable energy, focusing on solar and hybrid cars. This is a dramatic move after eight years of eco-resistance from that evil-spawn-puppet Dubya. Obama's move comes shortly after the EPA (enviro protection agency) announced global warming as a public health issue. WOW. How times have changed, how the tables have turned. At this point, the rainforest's are half gone, we have started wars over oil, made more enemies over friends because of oil and public transit is disintegrating across the nation, which begs the question: is this too little too late? Even further, are Obama's efforts misguided?

Investing in renewable energy is a start, but is only a band aid to the original problem: poor land use. Our addiction to oil is product of people living too far from their jobs, thus, forcing automobile dependency. Suburban sprawl does not account for or even acknowledge public transportation, and is too spread out to even accommodate a such a system. I just attended a meeting for the SFMTA, mother of MUNI, and that system is broke, forcing them to cut service and increase fares. This is happening all over the country, even though ridership is shooting through the roof. Even worse, suburban sprawl is still the development of choice. This country needs a severe shift towards transit oriented developments and walkable communities in order to eliminate the vehicle from the equation. If Obama wants to make headlines, he can throw money at renewable energy. If he wants to make history, he would require higher density in his cities.

Obama's efforts are a good start, but should be the catalyst for environmental investment. Renewable energy is not the ONLY way to support the environment or be 'eco.' Obama needs to start thinking out of the box, about ways to reduce the need for cars (public transit, TOD's), instead of just thinking of how to make emissions cleaner (hybrids). The renewable energy approach is like banking on the clean coal theory.

READ MORE BREEZIES!!!!


Van Jones doesn't believe in clean coal, and he just got hired by the White House. Hopefully he can have some influence, or maybe in the future, we will all have unicorns pulling our cars!

Jai Ho, part deux duex

I posted this a week or so back, but i finally found the actual remake video. Jai Ho via Pussycat Dolls. Its pretty tacky, but the original just begged for a remake, with the Jai Ho dude's one line and the giant dance sequence in the end. Awesome.


Pussycat Dolls - Jai Ho (Official Full Music Video) Feat. AR Rahman HQ from Tiffanie Tayag on Vimeo.

Fugs 'R Us

So this is it guys, I've had it. Boat shoes need to be over. Everywhere I look there are boat shoes, every-where, and there aren't any boats near - ferries do NOT count as a boat that requires a boat shoe. I even think I have a sneaker version of these shoes, KANYE even did a version for LV, and I think they're fugs too. The water and the land are separate for a reason, water shoes should be worn when close or on the water, and land shoes can be worn everywhere else. Please, can we return to a kick where the colors are fresh and the patterns are classic?

Hello, Mr. President.

Obama was on the Tonight Show last night, and he was the only guest. Leno asked Obama about the dog: where is the dog, what kind of dog, etc, Barack responded that if you want a friend in Washington you get a dog. Maybe that's why Bush had two.

Slow Jamin the News.

This week's editionof Slow Jamin' the news was a lil dry, but its still a fly concept.

Palabra: A Series

Breezyfest (breezy - fest)
n.

1. Literally a festival of breezies.
2. An exaggerated way to refer to a breezy.


Whats up breezyfest?

If you still don't understand watch this clip of America's Next Top Model auditions:

Taxi Banet

LEBANON: As a way to attract female customers, a taxi company has painted their taxi fleet PINK. The drivers will also be all women, dressed in - pink. This was done as a way to attract female tourists that often vacation from neighboring Muslim countries. This is the second country to try this, after the UAE. It will be called 'Taxi Banet" or "Taxi for Women."

If I owned a taxi company, all the drivers would be equipped with a playlist of Destiny's Child, Kanye West, and Otis Redding and carbon foot print calculator for the convenience of the riders. My fleet would look like this:

Designer Sucka's

These confections have been spotted on the runway, not the isles of Walgreens, much to my disappointment. I think I'd pretty much anything with YSL on it, but I'm sure these will taste better.

Sneak Attack!!! Easter Edition

Dream(?)House

Even the "American Dream" is on the discount isle.


As I walked home tonight, I paused at the 21-Hayes stop, checked the nextbus time, and this shining light behind the advertisement was a bit blinding.

They're givin away houses! And they're big and bougie!!

Check it, you enter a raffle, and if you win, you can either live in a house worth over $2million or walk with $1.8million. Granted the 1.8 probably isn't cash, after taxes blah blah blah, but damn, in this economy I'd rather have $900k in pocket than that financial death sentence they call a mortgage hangin over my head for 30 years. The giveaway is actually a 'fundraiser' for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and only 37,000 tickets will be sold. The going price is $150. So really, you'd only be walking with $899,850.

sfraffle.com

Jai Ho! Part Deux.

Yikes. I happened to stumble upon this gem. The PussyCat Dolls did a cover of Jai Ho, the song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. This song is making its rounds. It was also adopted by the Indian government as the national song, funny, since its a movie about the extreme poverty of its country, but that's just me.

Bollywood is an amazing force on its own. Any movie industry that incorporates a group dance sequence in most of their films deserves a gold star in my book!

FYI, Jai Ho translated, means "may victory be yours."

WATCH IT HERE. cuz copyright laws won't let me post it, haters. BUT ITS WORTH IT!!!!

Here is the original from the movie:

LV @KanyeWest: Where you at?

Kanye West has been the Paris Fashion Week groupie of the year. However, after attending almost 20 shows, he was suddenly MIA for the Louis Vuitton runway. I know what you're thinking, 'isn't he was supposed to be the Louis Vuitton Don?' Its OK, I was thinking that too. Instead, you could find Mr. West was in LA singing at American Idol.

I don't care that he was doing a show, but its just a little comical that Kanye sang on a show that judges vocal capability and looks for Mariah Carey talent. I'm sure Simon was cringing during the performance, and all the contestants feeling better about their vocal ability. But, by all means, get it boy!

Here is the AI performance, but was it good enough to validate him missing LV? Either way, I bet he was pissed!

Seed $ales Sprout from the Recession Soil.

Today: Urban and Suburban gardens are beginning to sprout due to tough times and tight budgets. People are growing their own food, because they cannot afford to buy in the market. That's one way to get people interested in organic food, its LESS expensive!

According to CBS news, home gardening is up 19%, which was measured by the rise of seed sales. Also, community gardens are growing in popularity, including the one located in West Oakland just below the BART tracks.

When I was a kid, I had a huge garden and backyard. We had lettuces, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, peas, sunflowers, roses and strawberries. The zucchini's would be so big you would have thought it was subjected to radiation. I just remember being able to go to the backyard and getting enough for dinner. Can you imagine purchasing a package of seeds for about $2 and having a garden full of produce in the back? You'd be saving Jefferson's people.

The White House is supposed to be planting a vegetable garden as well, more on this later.

Jon Stewart wanted for murder.

In case some of you missed it, Jon Stewart ripped this dude a new financial asshole on The Daily Show.

On Thursday, March 12, Jon Stewart did what any decent 'news' corespondent SHOULD do, and that is, hold those suspect or red-handed accountable. Jim Cramer is the host for CNBC's "Mad Money". I've never seen his show, but supposedly he gives viewers tips on how to invest their money and also interviews the [PAST] head honchos of the financial world, such as the CEO's for Bear Sterns and Merrill Lynch (I hope those names ring a bell).

Stewart was trying to explain to Cramer how significant his influence is in the US financial scene, and even accusing him of being apart of its meltdown. I am not well versed on financial jargon, but I did cringe every time Cramer called the illegal and unethical actions of Wall Street "Shinannigans". It brought me back to the Bush days, when childish language was assumed as the only way to communicate to the America public, but instead, it was condescending and transparent. (I hate you BUSH). There is nothing more offensive than being talked down to.

At one point, Stewart asked Cramer why he was giving such poor advice. Cramer responded that he was only providing what his audience wanted, and that there was a market for his financial 'entertainment' show. There's nothing funny about me and my money, that's for sure. Stewart took the go ahead, and quickly returned with "well there is also a market for cocaine and hookers."

The way Stewart cornered Cramer with vintage video clips of, Cramer, reminded me of the interviewing antic's of the late Tim Russert. The best way to get people to tell the truth is when you force them to swallow their own curdled words.

At the end of the interview, Cramer tried to redeem himself by saying he voted for Obama, oy vey.


Watch the interview HERE. Its broken up into parts, if you can, I recommend watching all three.

@MTV: Go Hard or Go Home.

One question: is Aundrea from Danity Kane in this?

RW/RR Challenges: The Duel 2 - MTV Shows

We are in Grey Economy

Oakland advocate, Van Jones, just got promoted.

President Obama is following his path of placing the right people in the right jobs. The first example of this was Obama hiring an urban planner to advise the White House in its future planning ventures. The second example would be the appointment of Van Jones.
Jones has been invited by the Obama Administration to be an advisor for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Holler! This means that the innovator, advocate and activist for Green Collar jobs, Van Jones, will actually be advising the most powerful man in the world, how to create a Green economy.
Since Obama has put aside over $500 Million to Green Jobs training, Jones' voice should be put to good use.

What is a Green Collar Job, you ask? As Jones explains in the following clip, "Green Collar Jobs are good for the pocket book while good for the earth." Holler! (too much hollering? get used to it, with Jones in office, I think the hollering is finally working, holler!).


READ MORE ON VAN JONES HERE. HOLLER

Slow Jammin the News. Holler -

Talk about a national stimulus plan.

Drag Drought

If you haven't noticed, RuPaul has been sorta... MIA, 9 years to be exact. In a recent interview on The View, Rupaul discusses the conflict between drag and the Bush era, stating that drag and war do not really mix. However, all it took was the 86 of Bush and the introduction of a fine silky president to welcome RuPaul back into the mix, reality show and all. I have to admit, Ru always looks good - drag or not.




Check out a clip from a RuPaul's Drag Race on VH1, its a lip syncing competition.

Arms.

Arms. Guns. I'm referring to the body part - not the weapon, although, I'm sure some biceps could be dubbed as lethal. Michelle Obama has been the talk of the town for many reasons: she's 5'10, gorgeous, stylish, married to the president, but it is her arms stirring up the most conversation. Which, for me, begs the question: why? Is the economy that bad, that we have to focus on the first lady's body parts to distract us? Or is she just that fabulous, radiating a gravitational pull to her fabulocity? She must be proud of those things, cause she's been sportin' the bare-arm look for a minute. The critics are saying that her constant arm baring can be disrespectful to the significant of certain events, and is just too relaxed. But Michelle says to wear what makes you feel comfortable, so if the sista is comfortable bein sexy in the White House, I say handle it! Either way, the cultural infatuation with Michelle is refreshing - finally, a quality woman that ladies can look up to! Shocking!

Some other Arm inspirations:

Lina Hamilton in 1984's The Terminator, also staring our Govenor.


and the original arm'd diva: Jackie Kennedy

The Lonely $toner

Kid Cudi, you are so fly and obviously channeling your Kanye in this video. Please enjoy:


Day 'n' Nite - Kid Cudi from DP on Vimeo.

Swap meet.

I truly believe that I could switch outfits with this guy, meaning he is my new BFF. I don't want to cut up his outfit with comments, but I will say this:
So fly.

The Late Show Face Lift.

The time has finally come: Jay Leno is stepping down, Conan O'Brian and Jimmy Fallon stepping up. Fallon will be replacing Conan for the 12:30 slot, and is giving the show a facelift. The Roots will be the new House Band for the show, and providing back up for visiting artsts. The band dubbed The Grateful Dead of Hip Hop, already has 200 planned songs for the show, where as Conan's band only played 16. Nothin like a little spice to put you to bed.

Tonight is the first show: NBC 12:25am

Transit, Wow's?

Google recently added a Transit layer to Google Maps. Its located under the 'more' tab along side the Photo's and Wikipedia options. This service is approved for over 50 cities like SF, Chicago, and Portland. The SF transit map is pretty lackluster, because it only shows BART. Come on, throw me a bone, take the challenge and map out MUNI....



Play with gMaps HERE