Neighboring Newlyweds

Had a long lunch with Jack and Sal at Tlaloc, a very popular Oaxacan burrito shop on the pedestrian-only strip of Commercial Street bordering both Chinatown and the Financial District. On sunny days, Tlaloc sets up dozens of outdoor tables in the middle of the alley, and it becomes quite a scene. The handful of times I have eaten here, it has always been the same item, their signature prawn and mole sauce burritos. They cannot be beat. Appears Jack and his wife will be moving to neighboring San Mateo next month. With Sal (and his wife) just a stone's throw away, we soon may need to form the Wells Fargo Capital Markets Peninsula Married Couples support group. I should be eligible for charter membership in October.

Slick Willy on the Campaign Trail Again

Former President Bill Clinton has been glad-handing locals this entire week promoting his new book, My Life. He was signing books at the Ferry Building on Monday and at Cody's Books on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley yesterday. Apparently, judging from the San Francisco Chronicle article (link here), the Berkeley event was a mass love-in, complete with the Cal Band. Not surprising given Berkeley's solidly liberal base. Bill's a clever politician. The book release and book signing tour were timed smack dab in the middle of an election year. And Kerry was just in town last week to raise additional funds for his Presidential campaign. Mere coincidence? I think not. Bill's buying political currency with both the Democratic Party and the Kerry camp, if not for his own sake than for the political future of his wife the Senator (can you say Presidential Candidate Hillary?) or even much further down the road, for, God help us, Congresswoman Chelsea. The timing was just right. Bush is down for the count from the Iraq debacle (polls now show that a majority think the war was a mistake). Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 is gaining steam. The economic recovery has been stalling due partly to high energy costs and now rising interest rates. And this is typically the time in an election year when the two parties galvanize their base by reaching into the old grab bag of polarizing issues. Think abortion, gay and lesbian rights, gun control, race relations, immigration policies, universal health care, etc. No coincidence that the fight to renew the assault weapons ban is currently an issue in the newspaper headlines. This all plays right into Clinton's hands as he tries to steer public and historical perception of his Presidency away from the smear of Lewinsky and the impeachment towards his record on "real" issues. Last week, Gallup released a new poll showing Clinton's retrospective approval rating rising to 62%, higher than at any time during his Presidency. Oye.

A Full Cycle of The Lance Armstrong Chronicles

Last night, while T sorted through a stack of her old Paris photos, I sat in front of the tube engrossed in The Outdoor Life Network's all night tribute to Lance Armstrong, who will be competing for an unprecedented sixth Tour de France victory in a few weeks. OLN aired back-to-back episodes of The Lance Armstrong Chronicles and each one was a real gem. Apparently, Lance loves to drink Peet's coffee (and only Peet's) on the morning of a race. Five time Tour winner, cancer survivor, Subaru pitchman, fellow Texan AND fellow Peet's snob? Lance rocks. During an annual group retreat last year at the Ritz Carlton resort at Half Moon Bay, Gordy, our managing director and an avid cyclist and marathon runner, invited an old childhood friend to give us a capstone speech on motivation and teamwork. His friend happened to be Frankie Andreu, former captain of the United States Postal Service teams that helped Lance win his first two Tours in 1999 and 2000. He had some great anecdotes about riding in nine straight Tours de France (a current American record) and about his last two years as captain. After showing us a hilarious old photo of him and Gordy as adolescent riders in a junior cycling competition (Gordy came in first and Frankie came in second), he presented some amusing video clips, including his "personal favorite", an ESPN SportsCenter lead-in of one of his spills on the Italian Alps. Apparently, it is the most played crash sequence in professional cycling history. Well, maybe second most after the dramatic spill during last year's Tour when a spectator's bag snagged the right handlebar of Lance's bike during a critical mountain ascent.

Fahrenheit 9/11

Talk of the town and the nation at the moment. Saw it this past weekend at the two-screen California Theater near the Berkeley campus. It was quite a scene. The line stretched all the way down the street and wrapped around the corner. And it was a highly-charged, circus-like atmosphere with political activists on both sides of the political spectrum, "left" and "left-of-left" (this is Berkeley after all), rallying the very partisan crowd, distributing "informational" leaflets and registering voters. Strange. I may have been the only registered Republican in the crowd. In the runup to the film's premiere on Friday, I was a bit torn about watching what amounted to a two-hour political advertisement for the Democratic Party, conveniently released in the middle of an election year. It's no secret that Michael Moore has an agenda, the defeat of George Dubya this coming November. Regardless, I thought it was important to see the film for myself and to form my own opinions about it, not heeding the canned dribble that was being disseminated the past couple of weeks by the conservative media. After having been impressed by his previous documentary, Bowling for Columbine, I was willing to cut Moore a little artistic (and political) slack. Good thing I did. This film, at its very heart, is not about Bush, politics, war, or terrorism per se. Surprised? The film is really about an issue closer to Moore's own heart, class warfare. The theme of rich versus poor (and the institutionalization of a two-tier class system) was central to Moore's very first documentary, Roger and Me. Same theme, different context. The desperately poor families of Flint, Michigan (Moore's hometown) still live in third world squalor, in ghettos that one young man in the film points out look more war-torn than the villages in Iraq. But the "wrongdoer" is no longer General Motors. It is now the War Administration of George Dubya, whose Armed Services are unfairly targeting the sons and daughters of the poor to fight in a war that is both unjust and unnecessary. But here's the rub. Whether a war is just or unjust is of little importance to the "system". War, according to Moore, serves one primary, overarching purpose, as a means for the rich to stay rich and the poor to stay poor. War is just one more subsystem within the class struggle. Interesting argument, one that is getting lost amidst all of the political rhetoric. Moore's own shenanigans too often get in the way as well. The story of a Flint mother's tragic loss of her son in Iraq and the transformation that she undergoes from one of flag-waving support of the war effort to one of confusion, loss, and ultimate rage at the Administration gets undermined by the sophomoric and high-handed stunts that typify all Moore documentaries, e.g., hijacking an ice cream truck to read aloud the Patriot Act to Congressmen. Regardless of your politics, Fahrenheit 9/11 does provoke thought about some serious issues, rare for any film nowadays. For that reason alone, it's one I would recommend without hesitation.

The Paper Chase

Spent the better part of Sunday in the Elmwood District of Berkeley. Had a tasty brunch at Filippos at one of the tables adjoining the open breezeway where diners can enjoy the shade and watch the neighboring florist tend to her makeshift kiosk lined with rows of fresh cut flowers. The tomato, basil, mozzarella, and pesto appetizers really hit the spot. Afterwards, T and I found seats at the Coffee Beanery cafe across the street, no small feat on a busy Sunday. Judging from the books on the tables around us, I suspect the cafe has become a hive for Boalt Hall law school students. The woman across from us was engrossed in her criminal law casebook, highlighting entire sections of the page. Reminded me of a scene in the movie, The Paper Chase, where the primary character, an anxious first year Harvard Law student, "paints" his casebook in yellow ink. Interesting segue. T and I strolled across the street to the stationery store where we sat and flipped through countless binders of paper samples, searching for the right paper to use for our invitations. It was our particular version of "the paper chase".