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Richard Aguirre is an until now largely unknown Democratic candidate for Governor of California taking on California Attorney General Jerry Brown. In the video above, posted today April 17th, Aquirre walks in with the perfect activist-running-for-something attire of jeans, t-shirt, and pony tail, and expects to be taken seriously. Richard v. Jerry at the convention The result, even if that's his brand, is he's in a damaging video he posted on YouTube which shows him not being taken seriously. Richard Aguirre first challenges Jerry Brown to a debate in his speech, then allows himself to be shown yelling at Brown from the back of the ballroom at the California Democratic Convention. After that, much of Richard Aguirre's camera time is spent on a not so merry chase of Brown around the convention, yelling for him to debate like a Chihuahua might bark at a Doberman Pincher. Geez. Finally Richard Aguirre gets to within reach of Brown, who keeps going without st...

This space has been constant in reporting buildings that get LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) awards from the U.S. Green Building Council and today's no exception. The popular luxury W Hotel San Francisco, next to Moscone Convention Center, earned a LEED award and celebrated in W Hotel style and fashion, by hosting American Idol Season 8 winner Kris Allen at a ribbon-cutting event on Wednesday at the hotel at a private, invitation-only ceremony. The timing is perfect because Kris Allen just scored his own first:  Allen signed a publishing deal with Universal Music. A LEED award is given to the builders of structures that have efficient, energy-saving HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems that use natural light effectively.  The W Hotel San Francisco is one of a handful of buildings in America, and even fewer hotels, to earn a LEEDS designation. Congratulations.

Waste Management is angry Waste Management v. Recology for the right to dump San Francisco waste is a battle with national implications. Why? It essentially pits one giant garbage firm, Waste Management, against it's much smaller competitor Recology and may pave the way for other local firms to have more success in competing against national organizations in the waste business. Waste Management is 43,400 employees in size; Recology, formerly NorCal Waste Systems, has 2,100. This blogger normally doesn't pay much attention to local trash, preferring the national celebrity brand, but a political battle between two established companies, and the fact that a lot of people from various sides have talked about it without any provocation, caused this space to wade into an argument such that regardless of what is stated, and how reasonable it may be, the other side - or some other side - is bound to be pissed off. But the reason for the attention from this space was a Marc...

Today is April 15th, IRS Tax Day. That day where people get their last files together to make a list of fiscal expenditures and get their tax report in to the government before midnight. While today may be a day of dread, fear not, for it's also a time of IRS tax day freebies 2010. Now the trouble is while this is a national trend, not enough retailers or eateries are actually sending out press releases announcing a marketing effort. If this blogger were in the restaurant business, everyone would get a free drink if they purchased a meal and could prove they just filed their taxes. Now there is one company that seems to get "IRS tax day freebies 2010:" Starbucks. If you bring in a reusable mug on April 15th, or today, you get a free brewed coffee according to their website . Cinnabon, who makes those great, big cinnamon rolls with the thick frosting on top, is also part of IRS tax day freebies 2010. Between 6 PM and 8 PM at Cinnabon, you can get two free cupc...

In a previous article called 15 common cognitive distortions- how our thoughts influence our mental health , I outlined a list of common cognitive distortions. In review, cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts that usually reinforce negative thinking and emotions and often serve to keep us from positive change. With effort and practice, you can reduce or change your irrational thinking style by practicing the exercises below. This article aims to introduce what a cognitive behavioral therapist might cover with you in therapy as way to help you reach your therapy goals. Identify your style of cognitive distortion(s) . Begin by creating a list of your automatic thoughts and examine them for similarities with a list of cognitive distortions, then outline them in a Thought Record . An examination of our cognitive distortions allows us to see which distortions we tend to use most often. Examine the evidence. A thorough examination of an experience or situation allows us to identif...

Gary Meyer, who's a long time friend of this blogger, is a busy man. He's co-director of The Telluride Film Festival and the owner and operator of The Balboa Theater in San Francisco. Gary and I met for lunch at Jupiter in Berkeley and talked about the movie industry, but for this blog, we made the video about two shows at The Balboa: Playland and The Grateful Dead. (And for those of you who wonder, we split the lunch tab, and the food, too. I recommend a pizza-salad combination.) The Balboa Theater is Gary's love and occupation. Located at 3630 Balboa Street in San Francisco, Meyer took it over about six years ago; now the Balboa Theater not only plays first run movies like Iron Man 2 on May 7th, but has a lot of special events, the one's Gary's got coming up are a movie called Remembering Playland At The Beach on April 23rd, and The Greatful Dead: Crimson, White, and Indigo on Monday, April 19th. On Playland , Gary says, "Everyone was going c...