Well with gas prices being ridiculously high, I can pretty much kiss my vacation good-bye. That’s okay though, because I have the WORLD WIDE WEB at my service! Take that, airline luggage fees! Suck on it, price gougers! I DON’T EVEN NEED A CAR, FOOL! Cuz I can peep the world from Google Street View and now, EveryScape.com, where I can check out cities like Bejing, Beverly Hills, Washington DC, Krakow (Poland), Aspen, SF, Philadelphia, and more. And by more, I mean MOAR - you can actually go inside some of the buildings in these places and scope shit out! Earlier today I was in the Forbidden City and Snowmass Village, Colorado and I saw a lot of nice scenery and architecture. See what I did there? I took a vacation at my desk. For free. Reason number 98234758475 why I love the information super highway. Moar on EveryScape’s future and plans.

Things like this make me miss my homeland. San Francisco is holding a vote to rename their largest sewer treatment facility system after the one and only, George W. Bush. San Franciscans think this is only fitting to have a sewer be a monument dedicated to President Bush’s work in the White House.

The Presidential Memorial Commission of SF has collected 8,500 signatures in support of this bill which is far over the amount needed for proposal on the November ballot.

Howard Epstein is the chair of the SF Republican Party and feels the “typical San Francisco crazies” are abusing the system. We ain’t ALL crazy, jerk. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is in on the joke while Republicans say Bush has accomplished SO much in such a short period of time that he deserves this honor. Guess they don’t get the humor behind it.

Signatures are continuing to be gathered on the streets of SF. Campaigners will wear Uncle Sam suits, top hats and play American patriotic music. I think they’re the San Francisco crazies.

The only time I’ve ever flown JetBlue I had a huge layover and it royally sucked. Now I hear about this lady, Christina Szele, a 35-year-old New Yorker who decided it was a good idea to light up a cigarette on her JetBlue flight. After downing three vodka drinks she lit up in her seat with a match. Flight attendants tried to restrain Szele but she assaulted them by punching one attendant in the jaw and kicking and screaming. She then threatened to kill the attendant, dropped the N bomb and called him a “dumb mother fucker”.

She was traveling from New York to San Francisco but she caused the flight to make an emergency landing in Denver after her outburst. Szele had also drank beers before getting to the airport. She claims to not remember any of these incidences of lighting up or slugging the worker. She has been charged with disorderly conduct in the past. She is now facing charges of causing a disturbance, assault and interfering with a flight crew. This is a felony and she could get up to twenty years in prison.  Blacked out much?

Our beautiful frontwoman Dani has just informed me of the greatest thing to happen to my life since I discovered hand lotion: Lebowski Fest in San Francisco!  I’ve been meaning to go to the one in Kentucky for a while, but now I can get out and really exploid my nerdiness with only a 3 hour drive.  Word has is there might be an office trip down there, so we’ll keep yall informed.

What the hell is Lebowski Fest, you ask?

Lebowski Fest is a bowling event celebrating all things relating to the Coen Brothers 1998 film, The Big Lebowski. It can be likened to a Star Trek convention in a very loose sense. The event takes place at a bowling alley and includes unlimited bowling, costume , trivia, farthest traveled, and bowling contests, prizes, and what-have-you. The friend of the Coen Brothers who inspired the main character played by Jeff Bridges, Jeff “The Dude” Dowd has been known to make an appearance and drink some White Russians. The 1st annual occurred in Fall of 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky and the 2nd annual took place in July 2003. We then headed way out west to Las Vegas for Lebowski Fest West in Feb., 2004 which featured an appearance by Jim Hoosier who played Liam (The Jesus’s bowling partner). The 3rd Annual Lebowski Fest in June of 2004 brought over 4000 Achievers and included an outdoor concert with My Morning Jacket. Lebowski Fest New York was held in Aug. 2004. Lebowski Fest hit a milestone in LA when Jeff Bridges showed up with his band and played “The Man in Me!” He was wearing his jellies. Lebowski Fests have also been held in Austin, Texas. For a complete lists of Fests, click here.

My first experience with Spiritualized was shortly after they released “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space,” a beautifully plodding collection of altitude dementia and psychedelic landscapes. Great album to listen to while sitting around, stoned out of your brain while watching candles drip, by the way.

My second experience with Spiritualized happened when they opened for Radiohead at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Easily the most boring set I had witnessed up to that point. While the music was decent, it was less than lively, and the lack of a visual element made it even less engaging.

I guess to truly enjoy Spiritualized you also need something neat to look at. With that, J-Spaceman has launched SpiritualizedHarmonies, a website that links a visual component to Spiritualized’s vividly textural music. Check it out.

I’ll let you know if it works stoned later on.

The first legal joining of a same-sex couple will be bequeathed on Phyllis Lyon and Dell Martin, a lesbian couple from San Francisco who have been together for 55 years.  Mayor Gavin Newsom will officiate the private ceremony at his City Hall office with 50 other guests.

They were having their morning coffee when Lyon heard the news on the radio. She rushed across the house to embrace Martin. Not long after, Newsom called to offer congratulations and to ask if they would be willing to be at the forefront yet again.

“Sure,” was the answer they gave.

The couple, who live in the same San Francisco house they bought in do not get out much now. Martin needs a wheelchair to get around. Although they plan to briefly greet well-wishers at City Hall after the ceremony, they are having a private reception for friends and family.

“It’s so endearing because they do seem excited and a little bit nervous,” Kendell said. “It’s like the classic feelings anyone has as their wedding day approaches.”

Because a few other clerk’s offices have agreed to stay open late Monday, other couples planning late afternoon weddings may already have tied the knot before the mayor pronounces Lyon and Martin “spouses for life.”

They don’t mind. They know they already are.

“We get along well,” Lyon said. “And we love each other.”

“I love you, too,” Martin said.

San Francisco rules.