The daytime… of the night

Now, I understand that the merchant’s association in this story is just trying to create a comfortable place for people to shop. I bet they view this in the same light as making sure the sidewalks are repaired and that there are plenty of parking spaces.

Bench-warmers sought to block homeless | Article Link

SAN DIEGO (AP) – A community activist thinks a few couch potatoes, strategically placed on sidewalk benches in an upscale shopping district, will keep transients on their feet and on the move.

Esther Viti, who oversees the donation of public benches for a merchants’ association in La Jolla, sent an e-mail to 45 other activists last week asking them to sit in three-hour shifts, no bathroom breaks allowed.

“After all, you MUST OCCUPY THAT BENCH continually for three hours to prevent that homeless person from sitting on that bench,” the e-mail said.

Donors weren’t happy that transients were sleeping on benches they had provided for the public, Viti said.

The group previously tried installing benches with metal dividers that split the seats. Transients simply began sleeping upright, said Deborah Marengo, president of Promote La Jolla.

No one has offered to sit a shift yet, Viti said. Some potential recruits expressed concern that the bench brigade could provoke retaliation from displaced transients.

In 2006, the Regional Task Force on Homeless estimated the homeless population at 9,600 countywide, which included 4,400 people within the city of San Diego.
Read the rest of this entry »

The way I see it, you’ve got friends, then you got your best friend. Big difference. To me, a friend is a guy who will help you move. A best friend is a guy who will help you move a body.

- Dave Attell

I read some encouraging words yesterday in a gadget blog that I read. Instead of getting angry and pointing fingers, most people were in shock and a couple of people were writing the following, “We all know people that are odd or a little off. If you don’t know what to do in response to this tragedy, go grab dinner with that person and make sure they know they are not alone.”

It really stirs my heart to see people recognize an inherent need for community.

How can I stay in business, you ask, by giving away all this video goodness? Don’t worry, just enjoy! This is video I created recently of a gift I received from Craig P Lockhart. I also received from Craiger a children’s book describing what is was like to be locked in a dungeon in the middle ages, but I thought the wind-up pig made for better video.

Craig likes to give “intellectual” gifts whenever possible… so I read a little Baudrillard to the pig every day.

Was swings a bit too much to wrap your head around? It’s my fault, I should have prepared us for it. I should have laid better groundwork. Maybe even had Milty on here to dicuss Swings. Next time.

So here is another video offering. One that is being brought out of the vaults. I apologize for the poor quality. At the moment, I can’t rerender it without the risk of smoke wafting from the rear of my laptop, so please take time to wade through the murky dark parts and the pixelated transitions. It’s still a shining moment.