Lunch in Downtown SF at The Old Ships Saloon

This is this blogger's first day back in the San Francisco Bay Area after spending most of his last four weeks in Suburban Atlanta.

As I write this, I've just semi-enjoyed a lunch at, whatever this place is called. Oh, yeah, the Old Ship Saloon.   Over on the corner of Battery and Pacific here in Downtown San Francisco.

At any rate, the service was semi-terrible. I felt rushed. A long time to be served, then served, then food taken away, then no one asking if I needed the other table for my computer (I did), then some lady I guess is the hostess comes over and grabs the set of salt, pepper, and augar that was at my table. And to do this, she has to reach across my body, which she does without saying "excuse me."

All for four patrons who didn't have a problem finding a seat. The place wasn't crowded. The lunchtime crowd left, and while there are people here, it's not anywhere close to jam-packed. But given that it' Friday, that could change around rush hour.

That written, the waiter is cool; he just seems like he's new to the job.

Oh, yes. I am writing this as I sit here.

You'd think business people would get the idea that it's good to make sure all of your patrons are treated properly. Not just some of them. And never trade off one for the other.

Ok. That's why I go to the Royal Exchange. In the 15 years (or more) I've visited that place on the corner of Sacramento and Front Street never had a bad moment.  Not only that, the Royal Sex-change, as it's called, was the home of some of this bachelor's finest moments.

Without going into detail, well, hell, why not a little, huh?

There was the female sales exec who said she could hold me up by the ankles.   And so, she took me down to the women' bathroom and, well, she did just that. (And she did a lot more after that.   One strong woman.  I like that.)

I can say I know what the World looks like from upside down, hung by a beautiful woman, in the women's bathroom at the Royal Exchange in downtown San Francisco.

I can't say I can see that ever happening at the Old Ship's Saloon, but I'm just smarting because the service is subpar.  Ok.  It's not happy hour.

Stay tuned.

Wikileaks Julian Assange and Bradley Manning in jail; the money thing

As Julian Assange sits in jail until his December 14th court hearing in the UK, and Bradley Manning, and the U.S. Military's former Army Private Bradley Manning sits in incarceration in a military jail in Quantico, Va, one thought comes to mind: who's paying their legal bills?

According to CBS News, the amount of money is donations may not be enough to cover the legal expenses both will incur. In Julian's case, his profile is so high that he may be able to get probono legal representation, but that's almost certainly not the case for Bradley Manning.

What this proves is that Wikileak's staffers and supporters didn't really think through their overall approach to the point of considering the "negative feedback loops" in their approach.

What Wikileaks is doing is taking on not just "the establishment" but a culture; one has to make sure they have the resources to take on such a task. Moreover, in this Internet age, just who's part of that culture seems to change every year.

Stay tuned.

Miley Cyrus Does Salvia Bong Hits

Wow, what a sensational headline. Be prepared, because this will be quite the blog post. This journalist is letting her blogger side really take over with this post. This is not Fox News, but that headline could definitely be confused or could potentially be a Fox News headline - apologies for that. Anyway, Miley Cyrus (who turned 18 on November 23, so she's not jailbait anymore and no one can give her any more complaints about her being overly sexual) has been said to have been smoking from a bong, but the claims are that the bong contains salvia.

TMZ video screen shot

All right so the following information was gathered from CBS News.

It seems like not very many people know what salvia is. It looks like the bigger story is "What is salvia" more so than Cyrus doing salvia. All right, being a college student may help in educating this. Salvia is legal and it is comparable to marijuana (not from personal experience). Salvia is said to give hallucinations and all sorts of things, but it's temporary.

CBS' headline for this story is: Miley Cyrus Bong Said to Contain Salvia: What's That? Aside from the fact that the headline should probably say "Miley Cyrus' Bong." Or if read in a different tone it could make it sound like Cyrus' bong is actually speaking.

CBS includes:

Google Images

Whatever Cyrus was feeling inside, outwardly she was giggling up a storm and jabbering - mostly incomprehensibly, except for a choice remark: "I want some more of that s***, I swear."

TMZ can always be relied on to get just what is needed to help with the credibility of a story (oddly enough). It seems weird that TMZ and credibility work together. TMZ has a video of the former Hannah Montana star taking bong hits for her birthday.

TMZ includes:

As for the video ... the source tells us it was shot by one of Miley's friends -- and the theory is someone stole or copied the video from that friend's camera.


Ha, TMZ is like WikiLeaks for celebrities. Letting out all the juiciness that people want secret. Everyone should watch that video - she looks pretty happy.

Now, it's interesting that TMZ's credibility is greater than that of US Magazine. US Magazine reports that Billy Ray Cyrus is "sad" because of Miley's bong video.

Wait? He's sad because of the BONG video. He isn't sad because of the lap dance video or any of the other disturbing things that she did when she was not of legal age, but now that she's 18 and she is doing a legal drug he is sad?

Apparently he tweeted:

"I had no idea. Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. I'm so sad. There is much beyond my control right now."

Personal screen shot taken of Billy Ray's Twitter

The screenshot includes his tweet about Jesus.


What? He is more upset about her doing salvia bong hits than her dancing on stripper poles, taking seductive pictures at the age of 15, giving a 44-year-old man a lap-dance at the age of 16, etc? Does this family make sense? Her racy outfits and watching videos of her acting all seductive at concerts and making herself "sexy" before she reached 18 was not as upsetting as seeing a video of her taking hits from a bong? This is unbelievable - maybe US Weekly isn't right.

US Weekly also claims:

"Okay, I'm about to lose it now," Cyrus says after taking her first hit. "I'm having a little bit of a trip right now."


Hey, it's legal. She is allowed to enjoy herself now. Is this being blown out of proportion? Maybe, but it's enjoyable to be able to blog about this. It's ironic that now that she's 18 all off a sudden her father finds a flaw in her behavior.


Here's a completely unrelated video of Nikky Raney doing a KE$HA parody. This video has absolutely nothing at all to do with this blog post in any way shape or form.. just felt like including it:

Miley Cyrus Bong Video

Wow, not since the infamous Miley Cyrus Grind Dance Video.

Er, this one...



...has pop singer, actress, and sextet Miley Cyrus done anything so controversial or buzz-generating. Miley Cyrus is in a video smoking a bong.

Cool!

According to TMZ.com, which broke the Miley Cyrus Grind Video story, too, on Miley's 18th birthday she pretty much let it all hang out.

The Party In The USA singer had a big party, inviting people like Kyle Massey from The Disney Channel and Dancing With The Stars, and being caught getting necked and heavy petted by some unidentified guy. But that was November 23rd, and we didn't know any more since them. Until today.

What happened was that Miley decided to take a smoke of the big bong at some after-party, and upon doing go kind of freaked out. She mistook some guy for Liam Hensworth, the man she had been (still is) dating, and said she was "freaking out" and then started to do just that.

The result is this video:  BONG.

TMZ reports the video was taken off a friend's camcorder.

Wow. Wonder how much TMZ.com paid for that one? Someone said the Miley Cyrus Grind Dance Video fetched $60,000.

What next, the Miley Cyrus Porn Video?   Wonder how much that will get?

WikiLeaks New Strategy

Voice of America News online reports that WikiLeaks is following a new strategy in document release.

WikiLeaks has journalists that do journalism and they have won awards in journalism, but VOANews claims that WikiLeaks is "portraying itself as a news organization." It may not be a news organization, but it is definitely a source for news and information.

There is a lot of controversy saying that only a few of the reported documents are being published.

VOANews points out that Julian Assange, creator, thinks that WikiLeaks is a "journalistic institution" :

In a posting this week on the website CommonDreams, Assange said that WikiLeaks has invented a new type of reporting that he calls "scientific journalism" in which people can read a news story, then click online to see its veracity.


The strategy seems to be the gradual release of documents rather than releasing the documents all at once - which makes sense. There should not be complaints about this - people should want to know what the government is covering up.

VOA News continues:

Former CIA deputy director John McLaughlin says officials do not like surprises, and they are getting new ones every day.

"The fact that this is dribbling out, if you're in government now you have to wonder, 'What's next, and what am I going to have to cope with?' And it's likely to come at a bad time when you already have your hands full," said McLaughlin. "So it's another volatile factor in a world that's already too volatile."

The arrangement between WikiLeaks and the news organizations publishing the material - Le Monde in France, El Pais in Spain, the Guardian in Britain, and Der Spiegel in Germany - is unusual. It links media organizations to a group that is under what U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder calls "active, ongoing, serious investigation."


Well it is easier to click through and see a document accompanied with an article rather than have to post it all in a physical newspaper - so maybe this is where web journalism can really be kicking into gear - just thinking about the future of journalism.

Beyonce ad banned in Britain

Is this ad for her Beyonce's new fragrance, Beyonce Heat, too much? Evidently it's too much in Great Britain...

GOP suddenly pro-Earmark (or is that pro-Pork, perhaps?)

According to Citizens Against Government Waste, during the last time Republicans controlled Congress (which started in 1994, based on the "Contract With America") there were about 1300 earmarks for nearly $8 billion - at a time when we had a budget surplus under the Clinton administration. Then by the final year of GOP control a decade later (2005) their were 10 times as many earmarks totaling over $27 billion, and a record budget deficit - which the elite pundits are still trying to blame on Obama.

You can learn more about the man the Democrats call the “Prince of Pork” -- GOP Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-05) -- as he takes over chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee by reading various articles online; he's brought so much money for Kentucky that they've renamed the former Daniel Boone Parkway the Hal Rogers Parkway.

Citizens Against Government Waste named Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) their "Porker of the Month" in August, somehow without mentioning the word nepotism.

“Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) August Porker of the Month for sponsoring legislation that could give federal funding to his daughter’s nonprofit organization, which promotes overseas wildlife protection for cheetahs.”

It's probably a coincidence that his daughter is the Grants Administrator of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

But there's good news.  This sort of spending (millions to a fund based in Namibia) won't lead to bigger government. It's just $5 million a year to a non-government agency based overseas.

Look, I'm not saying conservation and cheetahs aren't important, it's just a question of priorities.  The GOP voted down a one-time payment of $250 to Senior Citizens... but that's another story.  My point is, it's about priorities, and once they capture a majority naturally the GOP priorities have changed to ensure their donors will help them get re-elected.

At least they haven't flip-flopped on tax-breaks for the rich.

I know, right?

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, political strategist, and photographer who recently worked as the Campaign Manager on the Madore For Congress campaign in Minnesota's 2nd District. He contributes regularly to a host of other web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Carl Crawford and Red Sox

ESPN online reports that Carl Crawford has made a seven year, $142 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.

It's ironic that Red Sox have been known to complain about the spending habits of the Yankees, but now Crawford will be the first player in Red Sox history with a contract with "an average annual value in excess of $20 million."

The Boston Globe online reports that Crawford was high in demand by various teams such as The Angels, Yankees and Rangers.

Red Sox Manager has called Crawford a game changer. The Globe also reports:

Crawford is Tampa Bay’s career leader in batting average (.296), doubles (211), triples (105), stolen bases (409), and runs scored (765). Crawford, who is from Houston, was Tampa Bay’s second-round pick in the 1999 draft. He had been with the organization his entire career. With Crawford in the fold, the Red Sox could trade Mike Cameron or use the righthanded hitter off the bench, as a spare outfielder, or as a designated hitter.

This deal has made many assume that the Yankees will soon be making a deal with lefthander CLiff Lee.

Wikileaks Julian Assange Arrested for Rape: Swedish Blog Has New Info

Wikileaks Editor Julian Assange (who should get a Crunchie) turned himself in to British authorities Tuesday to adress the charge of rape in Sweden in August.

As this is written, Assange is in British custody, his lawyers are fighting his extradition to Sweden, hackers have tried to take down Master Card and other websites that have rejected donation payments for Wikileaks, and we all are trying to make sense exactly what happened.

Anna Ardin

What's clear is not, really, as of the two women - y Anna Ardin (Woman A) and Sofia Wilén (woman B) - who've accused Julian Assange of raping them, Ardin is alleged to be a spy for the CIA. And the Swedish blog Daddy's: Beware The Furry of A Patient Man, contains a timeline of events with new information.

It seems that, a bit different from the Zennie62.com account where they had sex once, Sofia Wilén (woman B) has sex with Assange twice: once in the evening, with a condom, then in the morning, without a condom.

Then Wilén (woman B) went shopping to make breakfast for him.  The blog has it that they ate and joked that she may be pregnant.

But even beyond that, Wilén contacted Assange and even paid for his train ticket to ride to her place, where they had sex that night. In short, Wilén was quite the agressive party in this case.

The problem is that between Anna's alleged CIA ties, Sofia's eagerness to bed Assange, and Anna's tweets that she later tried to destroy, but have been found and revealed it looks like a massive set-up attempt on the Wikileaks whistleblower.

The Twitter Tweets of Anna

The two tweets Anna posted and took down were found by Rixstep.com, and reveal a person in Anna that, the blog said, did not complain of rape or molestation by Assange and that "Anna really liked Julian."  Here they are:

Julian wants to go to a crayfish party, anyone have a couple of available seats tonight or tomorrow? #fb'

And...

Sitting outdoors at 02:00 and hardly freezing with the world's coolest smartest people, it's amazing! #fb'

The blog also leaves open a window in that just exactly how Anna Ardin and Julian Assange came to meet is not clear. It reads "Julian Assange arrives in Stockholm. He is invited by Anna Ardin (Woman A) of the Brotherhood Movement, an adjunct of the Social Democrat Party." But how did she come to be the person who contacted him?

More questions than answers.

Is this a CIA set up, or two women pissed off with a guy who they both wanted, or both?

Stay tuned.

Academy News: Live Shorts, Academy on Twitter, Countdown to Oscars

In this latest installment of Academy News, news from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 10 "Live Action Shorts" have advanced in the Oscar review period, AMPAS has a Twitter account, and this weeks starts the "Countdown to Oscar Night In America."

Live Action Shorts

Out of 76 pictures, 10 have moved to what could be called the semi-final round before between three and five are selected as nominees for the "Live Action Short Film" category at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

The next step is for The Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee, which looked at all 76 movies  during special screenings in New York and LA, to have their branches in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco hold their screenings. That will happen in January 2011, with the nominees to be named January 25th, with the other Academy Awards nominations at 5:30 AM. Here are the films:

Ana's Playground, Eric D. Howell, director (StoryForge, LLC)
The Confession, Tanel Toom, director (National Film and Television School)
The Crush, Michael Creagh, director (Purdy Pictures)
God of Love, Luke Matheny, director (Luke Matheny)
Na Wewe, Ivan Goldschmidt, director-producer (CUT!)
Seeds of the Fall, Patrik Eklund, director, and Mathias Fjellstrom, producer (Direktorn & Fabrikorn)
Shoe, Nick Kelly, director, and Seamus Byrne, producer (Zanita Films)
The Six Dollar Fifty Man, Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland, directors (Sticky Pictures Ltd.)
Sma Barn, Stora Ord (Little Children, Big Words), Lisa James Larsson, director and Andreas Emanuelsson, producer (Bob Film Sweden AB)
Wish 143, Ian Barnes, director, and Samantha Waite, producer (Swing and Shift Films/Union Pictures)

Academy On Twitter

After this blogger's badgering last year, AMPAS is finally on Twitter!  Hooray!  The Academy is at @TheAcademy and needs more followers!  As of this writing it has just 2,607 Twitter followers.  This is where stars like  with massive Twitter followers and who should be named hosts should chip in, like Ellen DeGeneres @TheEllenShow and Lady Gaga @ladygaga, as well as the Oscar Hosts Anne Hathaway @hathaway_anne and Janes Franco, who needs a new Twitter page.

Countdown to Oscars

Finally, it's just 80 days to the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, February 27th, and 50 cities will host special charity events.  While there are a number of events held in a given area, only one will be selected as the official "Oscar Night In America" party for that metropolitan area.

Stay tuned.

Urban Meyer: Resigns From Head Coaching Position

Urban Meyers has stepped down as head coach for the Florida Gators. During his six season career as the Gators head coach Urban Meyer led the team to 2 national champions and 2 SEC titles. His resignation was a surprise and disappointment for many. It is unclear whether or not the resignation will have a severe impact on the schools recruiting. Ray Drew, an athlete from Thomas County Central, who was considering Florida stated that “I’m somewhat disappointed that it happened this late in the process. I’m not going to say it X’s them out but that’s a problem. That’s a big problem.” Urban Meyers doesn't seem to be worried about any significant problems for the school. He was quoted as saying, in regards to the recruiting issue, that "Florida is Florida. Florida will always be Florida.......I talked to a handful of [recruits] already and I’ll talk to a bunch of them tonight and tomorrow,”

John Bobst aka The Force of Nature

Go to to check out my comics, humor and creative writings, songs and to purchase my zines.

Aretha Franklin: Diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer

The 68 year old Aretha Franklin has been experiencing problems with her health recently but has chosen not to divulge any details as to her condition.  Aretha Franklin cancelled all tour dates and public appearances on doctors orders and divulged last week that she had recently undergone surgery.

Reports by family members and friends have indicated that the singer has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  No official statement in regards to her medical condition have been made by Aretha herself or her representatives.  Aretha did make a statement in regards to her surgery saying that "The surgery was highly successful. God is still in control. I had superb doctors and nurses whom were blessed by all the prayers of the city and the country. God bless you all for your prayers!"  

A prayer vigil for the Queen of Soul was held last week December 1st.  Fans and gathered downtown in Motown to pray and show their support.  

John Bobst aka The Force of Nature

To check out more of my work visit www.theforceofnature.net  

I've started a comic strip and once school is out I will try to update it daily.  You can also find humor, creative non-fiction, my music, and my zines there.