Happy Mother's Day! And San Francisco and Oakland News

Mother's Day is special, and not just to all mothers. Mother's Day is for sons and daughters, too.

As an only child and a product of a single-mom family, I have a unique place in life that brings me to visit my Mother each month. I'm fortunate to be able to do this.

But some who also can do that, don't. It's to them I say, call your folks. Call your Mom. See your Mom. Because when your Mom passes on, you will regret not having done so.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mom's out there!

Now, in San Francisco and Oakland news in brief..

Jennifer Solorio, like my Mom, a breast cancer survivor, will be the honorary bat girl at today's San Francisco Giants baseball game. She was selected from 1,500 applicants, at the website www.HonoraryBatGirl.com

And from emails...

Supervisor Scott Wiener, SF Rec & Park, Recology and Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc. kicked off the start of increased waste and recycling services at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Saturday.

SF Rec & Park has been dealing with large numbers of visitors to San Francisco’s Dolores Park, especially on holidays and weekends, which has caused an increased amount of liter to be placed in and around park trash bins.

With the help of Supervisor Wiener, SF Rec & Park, Recology and Mission Neighborhood Centers, an extra park attendant will be added during peak park visitor hours to monitor and empty trash bins that have reach capacity.

The program will add 386 clean up hours at Dolores Park on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through the summer months and ending in September 2011

This one from Oakland's Adams Point Group...

BACK TO THE ROOTS 1ST ANNUAL COMMUNITY GATHERING


Where: BACK TO THE ROOTS

2935 Adeline St.


When: May 12, 2011, 6:00PM

There will be a tour of our new warehouse & operations, a ton of great food from local companies, drinks, music and fun people! And of course, a lot of mushrooms!


RSVP at : http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/ha6dx6qe7hxvze2td

For more information, please visit: http://www.bttrventures.com/.

Grand opening of OAKOLLECTIV Pop Up Store

OAKOLLECTIV will officially opening its doors on Friday May 20th 2011, hours 4pm—6pm

Oakollectiv Pop Up Store is located on 1427 Broadway and will be housed in the old city owned Raiders store “the spot” in downtown Oakland.

OAKOLLECTIV is a collaboration of two experienced designers, Penelope Adibe and Rachel Konte, both transplants from Europe to the US. They have come together to create a Pop Up Designer shop in the heart of downtown Oakland.

The space will feature 3 local brands; AFROBUDDAH by Rachel Konte, NNEKA by Penelope Adibe and Guerilla Clothing by Guerilla Café (designed by Rachel Konte). They plan to bring a diverse mix of merchandise from women’s wear, vintage modern kitchen house ware and menswear to the store. All the entrepreneurs in the space have one thing in common; they are all Oakland residents and run their businesses locally.

Penelope Adibe and Rachel Konte are the curators and daily managers of the OAKOLLECTIV.

www.oakollectiv.blogspot.com

More to come! Happy mother's day!

LA Lakers Should Be "Blown Up" - Magic Johnson On ESPN

Ervin "Magic" Johnson, the LA Lakers legend and former part-owner of the NBA Franchise (he sold his interest in the organization, October 2010), said, just 10 minutes ago on ESPN's KIA NBA Show, that "it's time to blow up the Los Angeles Lakers" and "start all over" with "the resignation of Phil Jackson.

The statements were the harshest given by a former Laker and come in the wake of their 92 to 98 Friday night loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals, putting the storied organization and two-time defending champion just one Sunday game from total elimination.

Magic Johnson wasn't coy about his feelings, stating that the Lakers lack leadership, and because of that, the finger-pointing has continued through the Dallas series without a person to step in and take charge.

Johnson also says that one of the first people to go is, ironically, the man who played well Friday night, Andrew Bynum. Johnson also agreed with fellow panelist and ESPN Personality Michael Wilbon, who said the key addition to the Lakers should be Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard.

Let's see how the current Lakers respond to Magic's blast.

Stay tuned.

Kentucky Derby 2011: Drug Use Questions?

Today's the day for the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby, and for this year, 2011. And while this blogger's still sticking with his picks, which will be reiterated below, the Christian Science Monitor has a provocative online article about "drug use questions."

According to Mark Gaurino of the Christian Science Monitor, a diuretic drug called Lasix is injected into horses just hours before the start of a race, and is used 95 percent of the time. That means it's a good chance Lasix is used before the Kentucky Derby 2011.

Gaurino writes that the drug...

..is meant to mitigate a condition that causes a horse to bleed internally while under extreme physical pressure. But the drug also causes a horse to urinate profusely, lightening its weight by up to 27 pounds and making the animal more nimble in a race. Hence, critics say, Lasix is being used to enhance performance - and to get around rules against using performance - enhancing drugs.

He reports that the drug is banned "everywhere" except the United States and Canada. The lengthy post is worth a read, if you're not at a Kentucky Derby 2011 party or headed to one, that is.

For those of you headed to one, here's my pick, again. I'd play an exacta of Dialed-In, Archarcharch, and Comma To The Top. Here's my video explaining why:



Good luck! Oh, more at the Christian Science Monitor!

No Virgins: Osama bin Laden's Song from The Grave (Osama bin Laden Dead ...

A YouTuber with the channel name of SpencerKindaFunny created this hilarious song about Osama Bin Laden created to the tune of Madonna's "Like A Virgin." He creates the scene of an Osama Bin Laden totally surprised to learn that the break-in to his giant compound isn't really a surprise party that consists of virgins.

That's a reference to reports that Bin Laden was caught in bed with a wife described on several news accounts as "much younger" than he. Indeed, Amal Sadah, the woman who has been questioned in the wake of the raid that occurred last weekend was 29, but married Osama Bin Laden one year before 9-11, when he was 43 and she was just 18.

CNN reported that during the five years they stayed at the compound, she never left once.

Bin Laden has had five wives.

Unemployment Slogans WANTED! “Tell It Like It Is”

Unemployment Slogans WANTED by U-Cubed in their latest ‘Tell It Like It Is’ campaign!

Got something to say about being jobless? How about our leaders’ apparent lack of interest in the plight of the jobless and creating JOBS now? Say it (in seven syllables or less).

“New unemployment numbers show our nation’s leaders still don’t get it,” said UCubed Executive Director Rick Sloan. “There are more than 28 million people without work. It is up to the jobless to tell it like it is.”

The grassroots organization for the unemployed and underemployed (U-Cubed) is designing a bumper sticker to remind folks that America needs JOBS Now. The website, via an ongoing Facebook ad campaign, is asking the jobless masses to help.

So unleash your creativity and submit your idea for a new UCubed bumper sticker in the comments section using this link. The winning slogan will be produced and distributed to all U-Cubed members for free.

Remember, your slogan has to fit on a bumper sticker. So, keep it short!

Show your support by clicking “Like” on UCubed’s page on Facebook!

UCubed is a community service project of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) designed to assist the millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans, and to provide them with a structure that allows them to take advantage of their growing numbers. For more information, visit Ur Union of Unemployed.

Paladinette has submitted several of my own and you can see those and all other submissions at this link.

[If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead, As Obama Visits 9-11 Victims, Al Qaeda Wants Revenge

While the search for content with the words "Osama Bin Laden Is Dead" continues online, President Barack Obama, who brilliantly called for the deployment of U.S. Navy Seal Teams, including the infamous Team 6, to go and get Bin Laden, visited New York City for a dramatic yet subdued meeting with many of the family members of the victims of 9-11, and included former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a true hero on that day almost 10 years ago, in the process.

And while the debate rages in the comment section of this blogger's YouTube video..



The terrorist organization that had Bin Laden as it's head, Al Qaeda, vows revenge.

The website Dawn.com reports:

In a statement online, it said the blood of bin Laden, shot to death by a US commando team in a raid on Monday on his hide-out in a Pakistani town, “is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain.”

“It will remain, with permission from Allah the Almighty, a curse that hunts the Americans and their collaborators and chases them inside and outside their country.”

Al Qaeda urged Pakistanis to rise up against their government to "cleanse" the country of what it called the shame brought on it by bin Laden's shooting and of the "filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it."

But it looks like the U.S. is not done with Al Qaeda, as an American drone hit two "al-Qaeda operatives" in Yemen Friday, according to The Washington Post.

And only the President, his national security team, and the CIA know what was in the computers seized from Bin Laden's home in Pakistan during the weekend.

America must now have more valuable information, people, contacts, and plans, than even before.

Stay tuned.

Green Bay Packers Legend Jim Taylor and Marcell Dareus, Julio Jones At 2011 NFL Draft

While the 2011 NFL Draft was an event to feature the National Football League's newest stars, one legend stood out from the rest: Green Bay Packers Running Back Jim Taylor. This blogger had the pleasure of meeting Taylor after talking with Marcell Dareus and Julio Jones, who were drafted by The Buffalo Bills and the Atlanta Falcons, respectively.

And on that note, before we turn to Mr. Taylor, Marcell Dareus shared that he had a great time in New York, going to the parties and events, and sporting a watch that must have cost $10,000, and he said was made "by a friend." Dareus then offered that he called his family and friends in Alabama to check on them in the wake of the most horrible set of tornados and storms in recent memory, killing over 300 people throughout the South.

Dareus teammate Julio Jones also checked with his family, and regarding the question of how the University of Alabama prepared him for the NFL, Jones remarked "Coach (Nick) Saban - all the preparation and training. Fans as well."

And then came Mr. Taylor. Jim Taylor's the stuff of which NFL legend has been built. Taylor, from a time when money was far less than it is in today's NFL, said that the issue of the NFL Lockout, was "too complex" to easily sort out.

Taylor's concern goes to the many retired NFL players, some suffering the results of their hard playing days, dealing (in some cases) with brain damage and deteriorated bones and ligaments. But folks like Taylor, Dick Butkus, and Phil Villapiano of the Oakland Raiders are the ones that show up on the highlight films shown on the NFL Network and ESPN today, not to mention online football games. Yet, the argument is they don't get their fair share of the NFL pie - and they don't.

Jim Taylor's 1958 to 1966 Green Bay Packers career saw five NFL Championships, and legendary victories like the first two Super Bowl games I and II against the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. What does he remember most about Packers Head Coach Vince Lombardi? "His great leadership. He could be overbearing, but it wasn't about me, it was about the team."

If you've got 30 minutes, here's the first half of Super Bowl 1:



Jim Taylor also gave my favorite head coach next to Bill Walsh, the Dallas Cowboys Tom Landry, fits during the Packers glory years. In fact, the Packers Sweep basically gave birth to Landry's concept of a "zone defense" against the run, and a family of defensive schemes called The Flex Defense. A system that gave rise to the great Bob Lilly:



Jim Taylor, a legend and a gentleman.