jemele hill...

I used to read her columns on espn.com.   I thought she was a good writer.

I have to admit that I never watch her show with Michael Smith on ESPN.

Tweets on Twitter can kill a career.   However in this case being suspended by ESPN for her second violation of tweeting the truth will more than likely help her career.

billy bush...

Just read his interview in the Hollywood Reporter.

Never liked the guy; perhaps his last name was a major reason.  And Billy is a kids name.  The only Billy that could get away with that name throughout his life was Billy Martin.

Still not a fan of Billy Bush, but I believe in redemption.  He deserves another chance.

Going through all that self help bullshit makes me respect him less.  But that's the way he's dealt with it.  So more power to him.

It realizes incenses me that the audio of him with that piece of shit derailed his career, but it didn't derail the campaign of the worst candidate I've ever seen in my lifetime.

So, a guy like me can never be a fan of Billy Bush, but I can wish him well...

elizabeth holmes...

One thing I've learned about millennials they have a lot of balls.  Meaning they have so much false confidence in themselves- they believe they can accomplish anything; even if their ideas are bullshit or a sham.

Elizabeth Holmes who started Theranos as a teenage dropout from Stanford has huge balls.  She persuaded investors with her strange voice that she could change the world by providing a low cost and low blood loss way to draw blood.  

Now we know it was all a fraud.

And she just won't give up.  She's pivoting with another machine.  I won't even go into details.

As much of an asshole that Steve Jobs was rumored to be- he was a genius.   Holmes isn't even close.  She's just a good bullshitter.

It makes me sad that in this day and age where bluster seems to accomplish reaching the highest office...

the illumination...

A short doc about Gordon Gund who lost his sight in 1970 when he was about 30 years old.  The former Cleveland Cavaliers owner has devoted his life to fighting blindness.  Gund is now 77.

Gordon went blind due to an inherited retinal degenerative disease called retinitis pigmentosa.

It's a wonderful short doc that uses Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now in its score.

The Illumination shows a kid who was born blind and was able to regain his sight as an 8 year old due to gene therapy developed by Gund's Foundation of Fighting Blindness.  His name is Yannick Duwe from Belgian and he's about 18 years old now.   Yannick was the first.   To date, approximately 100 people have regained their sight due to Gund's foundation.

Gordon is a great, great man.  And his wife is a great, great woman.

the green fog...

I only attended the closing night screening because I love viewing films at the Castro Theatre and I wanted to attend the After Party...

The best thing about The Green Fog is the live performance by the Kronos Quartet in conjunction with the film.  

I could get into detail about The Green Fog, but I won't.  It's not worthy of my time.  The Kronos Quartet are such wonderful musicians and I feel privileged to have witnessed them live.  

brimstone & glory...

This doc won an award at the SF FILM FEST.  

Really, I just wanted to see the Dolby Cinema at 1275 Market.  A truly spectacular theater!

However, Brimstone & Glory is a spectacular film!

These aren't reviews I'm writing about the films I saw at the 60TH SF FILM FEST, but basically some thoughts I have about them.

A town in the outskirts of Mexico City named Tultepec has a week long National Pyrotechnic Festival.   Meaning a fucking huge firework festival!

There is so much danger involved dealing with fireworks and the people in this town including the kids who make these pyrotechnics understand that they may die in the process.

I'm really thinking more about the kids and it seems to me that they wear the scars on their faces from errant fireworks as a badge of honor.

One question I have about the fireworks festival is how it's funded?  I'm going to do more research about the doc and add it into this post.

bill nye: science guy...

Two things I got from the doc- folks who have a thirst for fame and how some people just don't have the capacity to have an open mind to believe in science.   I'm talking about climate change deniers.

Bill Nye has a strong desire to be in the limelight.

For some reason, I thought he had a science background, but his degree is in mechanical engineering.

The Alamo Drafthouse is a wonderful cinema in San Francisco that has very comfortable seats with food and alcohol table service.   I have to admit I had a few drinks before the screening and I wasn't entirely focused on the film.   I need to take another look at the doc.

I'm not certain whether I'm a Nye fan at this moment in time.  The other famous science guy who really has the background Neil deGrasse Tyson is in bits of the film.   I also believe deGrasse Tyson is addicted to fame.

But if I had to make a choice between fame whores like Nye and deGrasse Tyson and climate change deniers, I'll take the science guys every single time...

aaron hernandez...

I was shocked to wake up this morning to read that the 27-year old former NFL football player hanged himself in his prison cell.   This was days after he was acquitted of double murder charges.

It makes me respect life more.  Aaron was such a talented football player and he just threw it all away for whatever reason.  It just makes me sad...

As I go into the 4th quarter of my life, it's disheartening that someone so young(even in prison without the possibility of parole)would take their life.  But I was not in his shoes, I don't know what was going through his mind.  

Everyday is crucial in this life, because you just never know...

lorenzo romar...

I was surprised, but not shocked that Romar was fired as head basketball coach at the University of Washington.

He had a good 15-year run(298-196), but this past season was just terrible and disappointing.   UDub had arguably the best player in the nation in Markelle Fultz and all they could muster is a 9-22 record with an extremely horrible 2-16 record in the Pac12.   Yes, Fultz missed six games in his one and done season, but there isn't any indication that Fultz would have helped the Huskies secure a better record, even if he played in those games.   Still Markelle Fultz could be the top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

I was looking forward to seeing the nations #1 recruit out of Seattle's Nathan Hale High School Michael Porter Jr. play for the Dawgs next season- now it's most likely not going to happen, unless UW's rookie AD Jen Cohen pulls a rabbit out of her hat and hires former Husky Brandon Roy as the next head coach.   Roy was a first year coach at Nathan Hale and won the Washington State 3A Championship with a 29-0 record led by Michael Porter Jr. and his younger brother Jontay(another UW recruit).  Plus the #1 ranking in the country as I write this post.   Nathan Hale opted out of Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals Tournament later this month- which is like the mythical National High School Championship.

Let's backtrack regarding the Romar connection to the Porter Brothers.   Lorenzo Romar is the godfather to Michael Porter Jr..   Romar hired Michael Porter Sr. as an assistant coach this past season at $300K.   Porter Sr. was an assistant coach at Missouri in the Women's Basketball program.  That's not a move that is usually done.  Also, it relegated Brad Jackson an assistant with the Huskies since 2012 to a newly created special assistant position.  The NCAA has an archaic rule that a basketball program can have only three full-time assistant coaches.  The Porter Brothers led Columbia's Tolton Catholic High School to a Missouri State 3A Championship in 2016.

Now since Cuonzo Martin left CAL to become head coach at Missouri it's rumored that Porter Sr. may be hired as an assistant coach and Michael Jr and Jontay will follow.  Jontay a junior may reclassify and play with his older brother next season in college- where ever that may be?   Another interesting tidbit- the Porter sisters Ciera and Bri play for the Missouri women's basketball team.   Wow!

Cuonzo Martin is a younger version of Lorenzo Romar- great recruiter, yet an average coach in my view.   And strangely, I could foresee Romar getting hired at CAL.  That would make things interesting...

I've followed Lorenzo Romar's career from his playing days at UDub and Athletes in Action where he met Michael Porter Sr..  To UCLA where he was an assistant under Jim Harrick.  Romar helped the Bruins win the NCAA Championship in 1995.  Romar's first head coaching job was at Pepperdine, as was Harrick's.   Harrick resigned from UCLA under fire in 1996.   The timing was off because Romar was already head coach at Pepperdine and UCLA hired coaching neophyte Steve Lavin.  Then on to Saint Louis University and ultimately to Washington.  I was a fan.

My perception of Lorenzo Romar changed about ten years ago.   I saw him in person before a UDub- Boise State football game.   Jake Locker was the QB for the Huskies back then.  He just didn't pass the eye test to me.   I'm not going to elaborate any further.

I wish Lorenzo well.

mr. bings...

Business is business and I understand why Mr. Bings was sold and remodeled.  Unfortunately, the place has lost its soul.  It's sad, but that's just part of life in the Big City.

To be honest, I quit frequenting the joint several years before the new ownership. 

One reason, my friend Michael Chan, the long time bartender at Bings wasn't there as much as he used to be.   

And really, this post is about Michael.  

Can I tell you something or let me tell you something.  That's what Michael says when he wants to tell you something that's important to him.  

I had lost track of Michael for at least a few years. I was worried he was sick and even worse, I thought he might have passed. 

The other night after having a few Irish Coffees at the World Famous Buena Vista Cafe- I was hungry and I walked toward Chinatown to get something to eat.  It was late, about 2am.  There isn't very many places open in San Francisco, let alone Chinatown that are open that late. 

I stumbled upon a Vietnamese restaurant on Broadway called My Canh which I remembered closed late.   It appeared to closed, thus I was about to walk a few doors down to Sam's which was open and serves burgers & crappy pizza.   Then I hear someone yelling "Norm!"   It was Michael Chan. 

Man, I was happy to see him!   I said to him, I was going to Sam's since My Canh is closed.  He said, "No, no, I'll get you in."   Michael knows the people who run My Canh. 

Michael proceeded to order me a large bowl of pho and a raw beef dish in some type of red sauce.  Both hit the spot.   

We caught up while I was noshing on my pho and raw beef.  Michael is a traveling man- Asia, Europe, you name it.  

Then he kept telling he'll never forget my generosity.  I never even thought about it.  I don't like tooting my own horn, then again,  maybe I do...  perhaps in the past, I expected something in return- but I believe I evolved to give from my heart and that's it.  Giving gives me pleasure.  

Michael was kind enough to pay for my meal and an Uber ride back to my apartment.   

Michael Chan was always a kind and generous man and I'm very happy I ran into him at My Canh the other night.  

I rarely am out after 10pm, more like 9pm.  I enjoy being safe in the comfort of my home.  However, life is too short and precious and I need to venture out sometimes to see what this life has in store for me...

Thanks Michael! 

jim tomsula...

When he gets fired as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, will he ever get another chance to be a head coach in the NFL?   I say, never, ever...

4-10 in his inaugural season and perhaps his only season with two games left.  I hope the Niners lose their next two games- next week at Detroit and end their horrible, horrible season at that wasteland in Santa Clara which is about 50 miles from my apartment in San Francisco.  Oh, the season finale is versus the St. Louis Rams who may or may not return to LA or the LA area.   Going off on a tangent- the Rams have the most overrated coach in the NFL; Jeff Fisher who makes $7M a year.  Twice what Ron Jeremy/Tomsula makes.   26-35-1 as the Rams head coach.  Let's not forget that tie against the Niners in 2012.  Wow!

This blog post is supposed to be about Tomsula, but I need to write a bit more about that lousy coach Fisher.  St. Louis could win their next two games and finish 8-8 which would be his best record as the Rams head coach.   Those three 13-3 seasons with the Tennessee Titans are ancient history...   It could happen, but it ain't gonna happen.   St. Louis faces the hottest team in the league- the Seattle Seahawks at the home of the NFL's 12th Man.   My prediction 7-9.   A loss in my hometown of Seattle and a win at Santa Clara before a sparse crowd of perhaps 28K.   Fisher still has one more year remaining on a $35M contract.  Will he be back next season?  I hope not.

Back to Tomsula.  He's a fucking rat and cockroach.  How does he survive through the coaching regimes of both Mike Singletary and Jim Harbaugh?  I believe he ratted on both Singletary and Harbaugh.  Tomsula was even the interim coach for one game after Singletary was fired.  I remember when that happened and I was thinking- who in the fuck is this guy?  Now, I'll never forget him; which is a bad thing...

The Niners under Tomsula are lucky to be 4-10.  That road win in Chicago was lucky, lucky, lucky.  Robbie Gould the kicker for the Bears gifted the game to San Francisco by missing a 36 yard game winning field goal as time expired.   What gets me is that the Niners got cocky after that win and got spanked by the lowly Browns the next week.

Numbers speak for themselves.  Even if the Niners finish 6-10 and I highly doubt they will, that still is a shitty record.

I saw San Francisco defensive lineman Ian Williams interviewed after the game by that midget on KPIX.  Williams was disappointed in the loss because he believes his team is talented.  What parallel universe is Williams living in?   If Williams believes his teammates are underachieving in games and then it's on the coaches and especially that former butcher- Jim Tomsula.  Okay, he wasn't a butcher, but I believe he was a meat salesman.  I will say that linebacker NaVorro Bowman has fully come back from his hideous injury.  He was all over the field.  Great, great linebacker.   Bowman is tied for the lead in combined tackles at 136 which includes assists.  And is leading the league in individual tackles at 100.

A loss is a loss.  There are no moral victories in football.  Yes, the Niners were down 24-0 at halftime against the Bengals and came back to lose 24-14.   Cincinnati was playing with a backup QB who has never started in the league.   So is losing with dignity acceptable?  I think not...

Do I feel sorry for Tomsula?  Not one iota.  He's making $3.5M a year and no other team in the NFL would have considered hiring him as a head coach.  I don't think they'll even hire him as a defensive coordinator.  He's suited to be a defensive line coach- that's it.

But we all know who put Tomsula in the position he has no business being in, but that's another story...

derek fisher...

My prediction, he won't last the 2015-2016 season as head coach of the Knicks.  Why Phil Jackson hired him in the first place is beyond my comprehension?  

Steve Kerr is a very smart man for reneging the Knicks offer for Golden State and we all know what happened- an NBA Championship for the Warriors for the first time in 40 years.  The Knicks haven't won a championship since 1973.

And won't win one in the foreseeable future.   

Fisher has been on my shit list since he weasled his way out of contract with the Utah Jazz to be closer to better treatment for his daughter who had eye cancer and subsequently re-signed with the Lakers.  The doctor who performed eye surgery on his daughter was in New York.  LA isn't closer to NY, than Salt Lake.  Plus, the Salt Lake region is well known to have great medical facilities.  

He also weasled out of a contract with Dallas and then signed with OKC.  I believe Mark Cuban is still pissed at him...

My buddy used to coach a high school team in the Bay Area and the team was lucky enough to watch a Lakers practice in the City.  After practice almost all the Lakers including Kobe stayed around and took pictures.  The only player that left was Derek Fisher...

By January 2016 Fisher will be fired, but still owed about $18M left on his $25M deal.  

Phil Jackson has proven he can coach, but at this point in time- he doesn't seem to know how to run an NBA franchise.  

albert tanimura...

He was my Auntie Patsy's husband.  A good man who left us a few days ago.  

He was married to my Aunt for over 50 years.  

One memory I had of Albert is he suggested I go to Punahou while visiting his home in Manoa in the 70's.   It sounded like a grand idea at the time- but realistically, my parents probably couldn't afford the tuition and my home was in Seattle.

At least I saw Albert about four months ago at my mom's 90th birthday party.  

Rest in peace Uncle Albert.  

ellen pao...

I wish she'd just go away...

I've read much about her in the past six months- too much.  

Don't understand her marriage to Buddy Fletcher?  I have never seen a picture with her and the man who allegedly took millions to satisfy an over the top lifestyle.  

Pao more than likely lives in the Bay Area. I'm guessing Buddy Boy lives in New York?  One of those bicoastal marriages. 

We'll see if Reddit fires her as interim CEO...

no one in the know calls san francisco- San Fran...

Only idiots who thinks it's cool.  It isn't.  It shows a lack of awareness. We who live in San Francisco and in the Bay Area call San Francsico the City or San Francisco. 

jim Harbaugh...

I've lived in the Bay Area since 1978 with stints in Honolulu & Seattle(my hometown) sprinkled in those years.

I was never much of a Niners fan, although I saw "The Catch" live on television and it was one of most thrilling moments I've seen in sports in all my years. 

I witnessed how the York family basically destroyed a storied franchise that had won 5 Super Bowl titles from 1981 to 1994.  

Let's get to Jim Harbaugh.  He was a good QB in his NFL career.  I enjoyed watching him play because he had so much passion for the game.   Harbaugh as a player was a gamer, just like how he is as a head coach.  

During his NFL career Harbaugh helped his head coach father at Western Kemtucky with recruiting and I saw Harbaugh on the sidelines of the Division 1-AA Championship game when the Hilltoppers won in 2002. 

I was happy for Harbaugh's success at USD a Division 1(FCS) school.  When Harbaugh was hired at Stanford, I was skeptical.  He proved me wrong.  During his time on the Farm, I learned how quirky he is.  His run in with then USC coach Pete Carroll was legendary.  But it put Stanford back in the national limelight similar to when Jim Plunkett was the QB.  John Elway was a great Stanford QB, but quite frankly those teams weren't that good.  

When the Niners signed Harbaugh I was excited!  I knew Harbaugh would win with San Francisco.  And he did.  I went all-in and became a Niner fan.  

But the problem goes back to the Yorks. Terrible ownership usually doesn't win championships.  The Yorks were lucky to have Harbaugh as the coach for 4 seasons.   This last season was sabotaged by unnamed leaks to the media which were started by Punk Jeb York and Asshole GM Trent Baalke.  And injuries.  Plus the regression of Kaepernick.  And not believing in the great Frank Gore until it was the end of the season.  

As long as the Yorks own the team, I will not support the team by buying gear or setting foot in Levi's Stadium.  Santa Clara isn't San Francisco.  It's almost 50 miles south from my apartment in the City.  

In all my years living in San Francisco, I finally bought a 49ers cap.  A fitted one to fit my Bruce Boche sized noggin. 

I actually want to burn the cap.  But I won't.  

Never was a Michigan fan.  I was a Ohio State fan when Rex Kern was the QB under Woody Hayes.  

I know Harbaugh will do well with the Wolverines.  But I hope he returns to the NFL in about 4 years.  I want him to win a Super Bowl and hold up that Lombardi Trophy.  

Thank you Jim Harbaugh.  

reggie mckenzie...

The only Reggie McKenzie is the one that used to block for OJ in Buffalo.

The fake Reggie McKenzie the GM for Oakland who should be fired.  

He's bragging about what a good draft and he had with Khalil Mack & Derek

Carr saying they are no longer rookies. 

The fake McKenzie was lucky that Mack was available.   Any idiot would have made that pick.  

Derek Carr.  He's decent, but his pedigree is questionable being David Carr's younger brother and I still can't believe how terrible he looked in the Las Vegas Bowl versus USC.  

I saw Carr in person against the Niners and he looked good, but he had all the time in the world to complete passes. 

I'll just say I'm not sold on Carr- not at all. 

11 wins and 35 losses in almost 3 seasons doesn't constitute success under any metric.  

dr. no...

The first James Bond film and I remember my father taking me to the movie when I was about 7 years old.  

Some of the featured players are Jack Lord more famous for his role as McGarrett in Hawaii 5-0.  And the beautiful and sexy Ursula Andress.  I was a big fan of Ursula along with Raquel Welch back in the day.  Her Playboy pictorial was sizzling.  Andress also dated actor Harry Hamlin who is 16 years her junior.   Back in 1980, it was somewhat scandalous- now it's a cougar in action...

What I don't like about the film is Dr. No is supposed to be Chinese and he was played by a white actor with makeup to accentuate his slanted eyes.  Mickey Rooney did the same thing in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS.  

Sean Connery is the only James Bond to me.  I did like Pierce Brosnan the role, but not even close to Connery.  

wishing Facebook friends happy birthday...

It seems I'm in a quandary every time I see that a Facebook friend has a birthday?

Of course some are slam dunks, because they are truly your friends. 

Others are more like acquaintances and depending how I feel that day- I really don't want to bother.  

I don't let people write on my wall, therefore unless they send me a private message or if I happen to post something which opens me up to likes and comments- they can't send me a birthday greeting.  

However, if they are my real friends- they have my cellphone number and can text me or better yet, leave a birthday voice mail.  

Yet I believe everyone enjoys a birthday greeting even if you're just acquaintances with them...

jay glazer...

Old pic of current Atlanta running back Steven Jackson interviewed by tiny fat fuck Jay Glazer. 

My issue with Glazer he has slammed Jim Harbaugh from the beginning of the season and FOX had the audacity to allow the midget to report on Harbaugh's job status during the last Niners game while the game was still in progress.   Not during a break in the action, but during a play!   Low, low blow...

Glazer is a so-called MMA expert who has trained NFL athletes in the past and who has a great relationship with Michael Strahan.   Football is a brutal sport in which concussions are the #1 problem. Not to discount the domestic violence issues and the hidden PDA problems.  MMA is a sport where people are beating the shit out of each other, not only head trauma is an issue, but a fighter is susceptible to every injury under the sun.  

I used to be a boxing fan, but after the Pacquiao and Mayweather fight and I hope they do-  I'm done with the sport.  

Back to Glazer.  He's lucky to have a gig on FOX with that face and body made for radio.   And he's lucky to have Strahan as a buddy, because besides the physical issues- Glazer just isn't very good at his job.