why pacifica rules

people were disappointed by the San Francisco fireworks this year, but in Pacifica, we had a show of epic proportions. every year my neighborhood (i don't really know about other parts of town) is awash with illegal fireworks, but this year... wow. this year we had professional-quality stuff going up. and about three times more than usual. everyone was out on their balcony or standing in the street to watch as rockets went up from all over the neighborhood from just after sunset until after midnight. the big ones were so loud it shook the buildings and set off every car alarm in range, and after each one you could hear cheering from all over Sharp Park. a fire truck patrolled the area for a while, but the cops were conspicuously absent.

i'm pretty sure my building had the best view in town.

anyway, it was a great informal neighborhood event, and it really seemed to cheer people up. and damn, do we all need cheering up these days. what i don't understand is why Pacifica doesn't have a municipal fireworks show in the first place... the end of the fishing pier would be a perfect place to stage one from, and people wouldn't be so inclined to have illegal fireworks if they could see some legally without having to drive into the city and deal with the crowds etc. it'd be a hell of a lot more interesting than the september "fog festival", which rarely even involves fog.

addendum: i forgot to mention that in the building down the hill, there's a guy who plays trumpet. every year on the 4th, he goes up on the roof about 9 or 10pm and plays the national anthem to the neighborhood. and everybody claps!

i love my neighborhood. i really do.

the good, the bad, and the ugly

the good: i actually feel rested after the long weekend, which is a rare and wonderful thing.

the bad: i didn't get laundry done, or finish cleaning my kitchen, both of which i'd promised myself i'd do. i did do a lot of reorganizing, though, and did four loads of dishes and handwashed everything that needed it, so at least i'm almost there. i also didn't go out to see "The Lady from Shanghai" at the Castro, after missing "F For Fake" last week, and i'm really very peeved with myself about that.

the ugly: for no particular reason i can identify, i am particularly filled with self-loathing at the moment, mostly related to my interactions with others and my conviction that i'm a life-sucking parasite and destroy all i touch. just because i know it's the depression talking doesn't mean part of me doesn't believe it.

also, the air conditioning is set way too damn high in here today.

be afraid. be very afraid.

california is considering privately run prisons. because what better way could there be to solve our problems with the corrections system than turning it into a profit-making enterprise? after all, it's worked so well with the healthcare system, which stands as a shining example of how to make rich people richer while screwing the poor and disadvantaged. except of course that in the case of the healthcare system, people don't have to literally take it up the ass.

this is also, IMO, a travesty of justice. how much do you want to bet the people who were offended weren't actually gay, but rather of that peculiar breed, the HypersensitiveLiberal, always at the ready to leap to the defense of anyone they perceive as being persecuted, whether they need it or not.

then again, i'm not gay. but, you know, i've met an awful lot of gay men, and i'm pretty sure every one of them would laugh his ass off at the commercial in question.