On the Street

High culture, low culture, and no culture all co-existing uneasily in another installment of On the Street. As always, read at your own risk.

On the Street

It's only fitting that when the city of San Antonio is out on the streets that I'm stuck behind a book studying. Perhaps that's how it should be - the two of us always together but apart, which sounds like a Michael McDonald love song that thankfully was never written.

As always, to the letters...

Letters (to the Penthouse Suite)

#1 Carne Asada Is Not A Crime!!

On the Street Foreign Correspondent from La Paz Bear Guerra sent in this letter regarding the Taco Truck War in Los Angeles. Rage Against the Machine had some album that sounded vaguely familiar to this...Battle of Los Angeles was perhaps the name? Looking back that band seems kind of like a joke, especially considering the horrendous spin-off post-grunge band they threw together. I don't even want to remember the name.

Anyway, the letter...

"bear thinks you might enjoy http://www.goodmagazine.com/blog/taco_the_town,
from GOOD Magazine."

(sin permiso)

The link for lazy people is here.

This Taco Truck War has spread to other non-taco sites. Counterpunch had a mention of it as well.

Here is the real link to check out. And it sounds foolish but it bears repeating - Carne Asada Is Not a Crime!

On the Street has done it's fair share of Taco Truck championing here, here, and here. (Oddly, the taco truck Master's Thesis doesn't seem to be linked anymore on the Current website.)

When the terms of peace have been drawn, at least we'll know what side OTS was on.

#2 The Other Tiago/The Papal Line Has Been Crossed

Longtime On the Street Insider Everett wrote to congratulate the Spurs victory as well as shed light on Brazilians named Tiago, which is pertinent because the Spurs drafted a Brazlian named Tiago Splitter last year who quite possibly could be on the team next year, which would be a historical moment as the Spurs would then be crossing the Papal Line of Demarcation of 1493 within their own team.

(sin permiso)

"Hey Mark.

Go Spurs! Cool coincidence that all 3 Texas teams are playing today, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Travis Lutter from Ft. Worth, Texas is fighting in one of the 11 fights tonight taking place in UFC 83.

I've looked into Tiago Splitter and was suprized to see he is only 23.

USELESS FACT: Just a few martial arts fighters with the name Tiago (Thiago: variant form)
-Tiago Baggio, Tiago Benete, Tiago Bonito, Tiago Damasio, Santiago Flores, Santiago Manzanares, Tiago Marreta, Tiago Matos, Tiago Oliveira, Santiago Pissani, Tiago Rocha, Tiago Silva, Santiago Terasses, Santiago Torres, Tiago Ze Gota, Thiago Alves, Thiago Born, Thiago Cruz, Thiago da Costa, Thiago de Fritas, Thiago Goncalves, Thiago Martins, Thiago Medeiros, Thiago Minu, Thiago Pereira, Thiago Rizzo, Thiago Santos, THIAGO SILVA, Thiago Tavares, Thiago Thiago, and Thiago Tutuba.
Brazilian Thiago Silva, who holds a black belt in their Jiu-Jtsu form, and is also a Muay Thai practioner, is one of the more well known Tiago/Thiago.

Here is one of his matches below in case your curious...

Video length (5:56) Great example of JIU-JITSU TECHNIQUE vs. BRAWN!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFT_XVwDeOU

Duncan for three!,
Everett"

The link to the Tiago UFC fight...

Jiu-Jitsu versus Brawn.

#3 Self Doubt

An OTS Insider wrote a small group letter of which OTS was included. I've kept the name anonymous. It hurts to read....

"Hey...

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm feeling pretty close to my breaking point and hate to have to ask you to help me through the intense loneliness, fear and self-doubt I'm dealing with at the moment, but...

I kind of need you guys. I'm having a really hard time with this."

For some reason, in these moments of doubt I think of the last line from Being There..."Life...is a state of mind." I'm not sure why. Hopefully everything will work out. "There will be growth in the Spring" is probably a better quote to consider.

(sin permiso)

#4 One Ticket to Paradise

In writing OTS #1 Reader Teresa about giving her a free ticket to the Best of Current Party for her long-term dedication to OTS, it was then that this epiphany regarding Eddie Money occurred.

"We might go to NIOSA tomorrow. We went to Oyster Bake
on Friday night and Eddie Money was totally lame. By
my count, he has 6 recognizable bona fide hits. He
sang three of them (unless we missed one at the
beginning) and he saved them until the very end of his
show. I feel he should have spread the hits out a
little bit more."

(sin permiso)

0.4 Vindication

We all know about it.

McCain's Swiftboat Coming Down the River?

In the same way that Kerry's Vietnam service was thrown into question, it seems that McCain's Vietnam experience could just as well be thrown into the quagmire of public opinion. If the Democrats wanted to win then they probably would go forth with this story under some public interest group, or whatever it's called when big moneyed shadow puppets put attack ads on television.

Anyway, it seems McCain may have collobarated with his VC captors to get better treatment. Here is part of the story, for whatever it is worth. I'm curious to see if this story has "legs" as the horse race pundits like to say. My guess is that it won't. Most likely because Obama is too busy fighting both of the Republican candidates (McCain and Hillary) to have any energy to go down this river, though I suppose the way these things work it might not even be up to him. All very interesting but I assume this will be quickly dismissed.

The story.

A Pimp Slap With a Backhand

I'm not much for the city of Dallas or the Mavericks but I think Dirk is cool.

His lack of retaliation has been ridiculed but it's roots are found in other aspects of post-War Germany. From the lack of security at the Munich Games (though really a showing of peace when seen in the light of the spectre of the 1936 Berlin Games and the Third Reich), to the stout refusal of clear assertive narrative in Fassbinder films and other films of the German New Wave, and now to this...Dirk's refusal to retaliate, which is more likely a misunderstanding of the situation. Dirk is playing by the rules of basketball, yet all his critics, it seems, are playing by the rules of American sports masculinity.

And as Avery reaches for his cattle prod to surge life into Dirk, it's too late. This Maverick has already been tamed. And for all of this, I now want to see the Mavericks beat the Hornets so the Spurs can see them in the second round. New Orleans, like the German New Wave, has no narrative that is worth scrutinizing.

No Horse to the Rescue (Aka Hillary Is to Obama as Nader Was to Gore)

Many self-defeating Democrats wanted to put the blame of the 2000 election on Nader for "stealing" votes from Gore, even though the outright stealing (or disenfranchisement) of actual voters by the lady in Florida who liked to ride horses is actually more quantifiable. And of course, if all the votes had actually been counted then Nader wouldn't have been blamed either. And of course this assumes that Nader and Gore were actually on the same page and had the same political vision. Then was not the time to blame Nader. Now is probably a better time as he's become pretty much irrelevant and a shadow of himself.

(sin permiso)

This long-winded introduction is nothing but to shift focus to the current struggle between Hillary and Obama. Hillary has no mathematical chance to win. All she is doing is damaging Obama and the Democrats chance for the White House. She's helping McCain more than McCain knows how to help himself. As writer Jeffrey St. Clair prophesized months back, Hillary's only logical rationale is to sabotage Obama for this election so that she can try and defeat McCain the next go around.

Her presence on the campaign and the attacks on Obama have such momentum it's important to stop and realize that it doesn't have to be this way. The Republicans actually have solidarity as the chameleon Romney stepped out of the way and hid in the background to help his party. Where is that sort of logic on the left? Howard Dean has less power than Hillary so there is no voice in the Democratic Party to bring sanity to their cause. What a sad state of affairs.

Obama's platitude of 'audacity of hope' is now actually being tested. It was easier to say a year ago. Now, for him to emerge from this Democratic unravelling unscathed, will be a great test of his character and strength.

Wiener Mobile

Evidently, it's here in town on the streets of San Antonio to help our city celebrate Fiesta.

It's these sort of moments in advertising where the actual product gets lost, or overwhelmed, by the ridiculous spectacle of its own advertising. The push to find new frontiers leaves consumers without a map, in constant wonderment of the Brechtian theater before them. On the other side of the coin there is a perpetual argument between the stoned, hipster Art Directors and the rich, moronic Vice Presidents of Marketing who wants to feel "creative." And somewhere in the middle - college graduates driving around the country in a big wiener acting surprised at obvious wiener jokes.

Coyote and the Gorilla

WEBB (A Big Party with an Elusive Name)

It's been a few days now, but here are some random images from the WEBB party at SAMA last week. Overall, it was a huge turnout and a huge success. Someone told me the history behind the name WEBB but I can't remember and I'm not sure even they knew for sure. Not that it matters of course.

Pink flamingos huddled together to stay warm.

As the night wore on, the dancing from the stage found its way to the floor.

Spectres of the spectrum.

A Tim Burton-esque shadow illuminated the wall.

This dancer was practicing her moves/chops to herself before hitting the big stage.

On the west side of the party there were tents of free food and this band right here playing. That seems like a "digeridoo."

Evidently, this woman is a famous actress from Desperate Housewives. Her appearance was brief but appreciated. I've never seen the show but I'm confident she is not Tony Parker's wife.

Best of The Best of...Current Party

Hot off the "presses". In no particular order, here is a cryptic narrative of the gala affair of the 2008 Best of Current Party.

Rockers Yoshimoto get ready for an incredible set. I had never heard them before. Matt the DJ told me they are equal parts Blonde Redhead, Fugazi, and Dinosaur Jr. Keep talking I said.

Within minutes of opening the gate, hundreds of hungry people stormed through for energy drinks, pasta plates, and cordials.

Though one might think pole dancers just get up on stage and start dancing, in actuality there is pre-dance routine that must be followed. Here, the pole is cleaned before the dancework can begin.

The Mayor stops by to help us celebrate the Best of party. Thankfully, the Open Letter regarding impending cannibalism didn't dampen his Fiesta spirit. Now was not the time to engage in detailed planning for the new Turner thesis.

With all the good times, one might forget that we were actually at a museum. There's probably a word in latin for butterfly collecting...

And this bird is even better, even if birds are so 2007.

This seems obtuse but it's actually self-explanatory.

The last known shot of Henry before he left his Current graphic design duties for greener pastures up north. In his absence, the graphic design department did a shift to the right. Not politically, but everyone moved over a chair to the right to fill his absence. Sadly, no more renditions of the story of how he shamed the guitarist from Metallica into signing his Mettalica tape while he was eating a Ceasar salad on the riverwalk. (Henry is on the one on the left.)

A hall monitor and a Catholic school girl in trouble.

DJs were everywhere. This guy got rave reviews tonight, and not just because he was set up by the pole dancers.

The pole dancing inspired yard dancing. Without getting into it, I will say this was a clear sign that the party was almost over.

Stages and poles don't just show up from the stripper fairy. No, there was work to be done to bring this all together.

A ridiculous crowd spilled over from the Current party to Limelight. People were being turned away. It was all very un-San Antonio. Since the "gangland" killing of the late 80s that did in the St. Mary's strip and thereby ended the reign of Joe King Carrasco, when has there been this sort of overflowing crowd?

Even more improbably, a gaggle of vintage mopeds. Maybe the Open Letter to the Mayor actually woke some people up? What's next urban gardens?

And what better way to end the week then the way it began - with Taco Trucks. Here, across from Candlelight, a Taco Truck has set up shop.

Ricos Minitaquitos. Unlike Los Angeles, we have Taco Truck amnesty here. Al Pastor is not a criminal either (though their version wasn't exactly inspiring, but anyway...)

And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio. As always, to be continued...