Ok. #sfc #happyfriday

The “I haven’t written a Damn Articulate or Thoughtful Thing in Months” Mini Rant

Number of drafts in my tumblr: 2

Number of drafts in the notes on my Smart Phone: 4

Number of ‘journal entries’ with more than 2-3 word sentences: 1

Number of ‘journal entries’ with only 2 word sentences: 8

Number of emails written to myself with ideas about what to write: 5

Number of tweets or fb posts about SF Bay Professional Sports teams and their post season runs: Infinity. 

Priorities, Magtonic. Priorities. 

i feel out of sorts.
i need to write
i need to laugh till i pee with a best friend
and i need a nice boy to buy me dinner
or a sandwhich
anything but a burrito
this is my hierarchy of needs.

— me this morning to a friend. (b/c a burrito is the most informal/everyday food in SFC)

Pro Ranters Discuss SF 49ers/Green Bay Game, Joe Buck, Drake, Colin Kaepernick & Mullatos

Texts during the game last night with my homie who’s Seahawks are breaking his heart right now… (FYI there’s some shit interwoven that may require some Drake translation, and some stuff about my dad who he calls uncle cause my dad felt he needed to add his opinion too… Mag Familia just be like that sometimes). 

Confession: I am a Romosexual- SF Giants World Series Champion has an Opinion Rant…

I know that national coming out day has come and gone, but I need to come out. I need to come out as a Romosexual. Now I wish that i could take the lead on coining this term but alas I cant. In fact, I don’t even know who did, but this is how I came to find out about it, and for those of you unwilling to click that there hyper link, I am in fact referring to Sergio Romo- not Tony Romo-, closing pitcher for the 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.

Yes, it’s because of World Series fever, yes its because of a million other little things, but right now, it’s mostly because of this picture.

Colorlines, has been doing a great job of covering and mobilizing folks to stop using “Illegal” to describe our numerous undocumented workers, families and children. But this photo, is a separate statement in and of itself.

Athletes often take on random campaigns for someone suffering a disease, like that kid, with that thing, that Brian Wilson and Cody Ross did that Dynamite video remake with. Or for someone struggling due to a natural disaster or for the very-very sad story of Bryan Stow, the Giants fan who was beaten bruttally during the first SF Giants/Dodger game of the 2011 season, right after we’d one our last world series championship.

But more over in the last few years, the SF Giants have been the team to actually speak out about more political issues, like being the first major league team to support the It Get’s Better Campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1TcD95kmGQ

Maybe it’s because we’re in politically minded, left swinging San Francisco, maybe it’s because they’re just different people. The Giants have been seen by Major League Baseball, and the rest of the nation, since their 2010 victory, as misfits, outcasts, weirdos. All true, Romo himself not excluded from those descriptors, but now this.

Sergio Romo, in his own, insane, particular, specific way, has tipped the scale and made a significant statement about not only his politics, but important politics for the Bay Area, for California, and for our nation right now. The Phoenix Suns did it when they spoke up a bit in response to Arizona’s insane immigration SB 1070, but this directly puts a Latino face, to assumptions, and attaches a major league name.

As a proud native of SF and a die hard Giants fan and CHICANA, I couldn’t be more proud. Border issues, immigration issues, the I-Word- are realities for so many here in CA, in SF- and yet we don’t talk about them in any serious or public way, except at ethnic studies conferences or other activisty-hippy private communities we brown folks participate in. This is excellent mainstream attention. Romo’s speech today spoke to a theme the SF Giants org has been running with for a while, “Together We’re Giant” and his statement in itself is Giant. It says, we’re San Francisco, and that’s what’s up!

Cross posted at Barnacle :http://blog.barnacle.is/2012/11/confession-i-am-a-romosexual/

Updated: Here’s the speech itself, with implicit references to the dream act. At least that’s what we’re letting ourselves believe. 

An Open Letter to the SF Giants Organization & Mayor Lee from an SF Born Educator

Dear San Francisco Giants Organization and Mayor Lee,

As a born and bred, black and orange bleeding, native of the city of San Francisco California, my joy in our 2012 World Series victory is a bit tainted.

In 2010, thinking the SF Giants World Series Championship, was a once in a life time occurrence, I reluctantly let this complaint slide. But now, wrong as ever- and happily so- I have to say something.

You’ve put a significant portion of your population between a rock and a hard place this week by allowing the ticker tape parade to take place on a school day. By profession I have to report to work, it’s wrong to skip out on a school day. By birth I cannot imagine being in a single other place then Civic Center, celebrating with the rest of our city.

I mean really… 11am on a Wednesday? Not only am I conflicted personally, but appalled. Point blank- KIDS WILL NOT GO TO SCHOOL. I’m fortunate, I don’t actually work in schools, but I do work for the school district. I won’t have to spend the next two days convincing students that while our win is great, but that cutting school, even though this is only SF’s second win since moving from NY, is NOT acceptable. I won’t have to spend my day convincing students that, if they are suddenly “sick” on Wednesday, we won’t know that they’re really at the parade.

But plenty of my friends and family members will.

Instead, my office will be scrambling to cover vacancies for all the teachers who don’t have the same moral compass I do. Instead, I’ll be a few blocks away hoping somehow we can swing an early lunch or some kind of trip into the crowd to see if i can barely see the top of Vogelsong’s head or something. If anyone calls out, we’ll all know where to find them.

I get that there’s a sense of urgency, in that let’s do it now, while it’s fresh- We can’t wait until Saturday! But really during the school day? You’re robbing not only 55,000 students (yeah, this is public school only, I don’t have any idea how many private school kids there are, nor am I really concerned if they miss a day given the whole achievement gap…) but a ton of people who work for the VERY city we all call home from sharing this experience. Scheduling this parade on a school day is an open invitation for kids to cut school, when we otherwise have LAWS saying they NEED to be there.

I dutifully serve the city of San Francisco every day. I’ll be serving soup or handing out blankets as a disaster service worker if we ever need it. I am a proud third generation San Franciscan who would not trade my experiences growing up, nor now living here for anything. Multiple generations of my family have settled and stayed in San Francisco because it’s SAN FRAN-EFFING-CISCO. I’ve dreamed of working in City Hall itself, hated the Dodgers since I could talk and participated in or been at almost every Carnaval parade since I was born. I remember my first game at Candlestick as a Giants fan, and my first Niner game when the power went out against the Steelers last year. I still call Cesar Chavez, Army Street. I’m that serious.

So Mayor Lee, and SF Giants I am so disappointed, and honestly sad that we can’t figure out a way to make this something we could all share together, across demographics- this whole post season further proof that we are bound by something really unique here. Please consider this- just in case we make it to 3 trophies.

I mean hell, I know it’s not an issue with permits.

Love,

Niki

As a point: A good friend, mother and also educator pointed out that the parade will be held on Halloween, a day when much of our learning is side stepped by all of the foolishness of the day. I agree, a lot of learning is lost on Halloween anyway, but kids are still supposed to be in school and it doesn’t make it any more okay. Now granted, her kids are smart as shit and might learn more at the parade, who knows. 

Dear Oakland- Let’s call a Truce: World Series Rant

Dear Oakland,

Our east bay cousin we see and bond with only rarely. Our adversarial feelings toward one another, while founded in so much, are totally things we should be putting aside from time to time. Especially times like now.

Yes, SFC natives hate on the bridge and tunnel shit, we call parts of Oakland hood, and fear for our lives at Raider games. But we love your music scene, outdoor festivals and restaurants.

Yes, you hate on our attitudes, our elitism and when Dave Chappelle said heading into Oakland he was sent off from SF with a nice goodbye and welcomed to the Town with a “WELCOME TO OAKLAND BITCH”. But you love our various parades and the fact that you can find a reason to be naked any day in the City.

It’s nearly impossible to like both the Niners and the Raiders, its true.

And though we historically have had our own Battle of the Bay World Series, I think it’s time we call a truce, and Rally together as the Bay. Oakland, I know you’re not the type of cousin to ride coat tails and ask for money when we win the lotto, and so I think it’s time.

I’m sorry if you’ve felt like us SF Giants fans are rubbing it in your faces (drawing above as done by my homie Josef), with our FB posts, tweets and wardrobes exclusively of Orange and Black, but honestly, I’d expect nothing less of you. I know you are ride or die A’s fans, there would be Green and Yellow all over the place. In all honesty- and I know it might be too little to late, I’ve been trying to rub salt into the wounds of my Yankee fan friends, who forget, NYC is not the center of the universe. Never meant to hurt you Oaklanders in the process.

So this is me, extending my hand on the morn of game 4. Let’s call a truce and show this nation that east coast bias is BULLSHIT and that the BAY knows how to play.

I would do the same for you, unless we’re talking about the Raiders- you chose that path, and can’t he helped.

Love, Magtonic

SF GIANTS IN FIRST PLACE!!!!!!! Nothing is better than a sweep over the Dodgers.

Saw this for the first time at last nights game… wtf