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Easy Lounge Fun On Wednesday Nights Ok. Those of you who are frequent readers of this blog space know that I've had problems with the Easy Lounge and some "unusual" bar service in the past. But I'm here to explain that's all gone. I went Wednesday night and had a fantastically relaxing time. To be totally frank, the vibe at Easy Lounge is different when two female bartenders are at the helm as opposed to the normal set of males and testosterone-laden service. The star of the show is Sylvia, who's an informative and personable image for Easy. Indeed, she's "easy to get along with and fun to talk to after a day of work. It's also the first time I've ever seen Tom Cruise' movie Cocktail. Ok. Stop with the frowning.

This is a video of the recent June 19, 2008 meeting to present Safeway's controversial plan to dramatically move and expand the current Safeway store at College Avenue and Claremont. The new store will be at 6310 College Avenue and roughly at what is now a corner gas station. The new 75,000 square foot store -- three times the size of the current facility -- will undoubtefly bring more traffic and also foot traffic closer to the center of Rockridge in North Oakland. That's the concern of the over 300 people who packed the room on that hot Thursday June 19th evening. The video features incumbent Councilmember Jane Brunner's presentation of the meeting, a talk with Patrick McCullough, who was Brunner's challenger in the last election primary (2008), a presentation by Dan Metzger of the Claremont / Elwood Neighbor Association, Stu Flashman of The Rockridge Community Planning Council, and Elizabeth Jewel, the planning consultant, as well as Todd Paradis, of the Safeway Rea

I created this "vlog" (video-blog) to deal with and talk about a problem I've had with certain friends. Perhaps you've had the same problem where some of your, in my case, friends who are White (or the reverse or generally interracial) don't give you proper "consideration" in your friendship, where consideration is a kind of contract that all friendships have -- a contract of basic expectations of treatment. In other words, while you call them, they don't call you, or if you are dealing with someone who's racist, they tell you that you "see racism" rather than coming to your aide. Or they are your friends as long as they're able to take advantage of you or get information from you, but when they get around their friends, you suddenly don't exist. I'd like to know your response to my video and your view. Thanks.

Liza Zimmerman, AKA "Liza The Wine Chick" took me and a bunch of others to the C. Donatiello Winery , a great winery in Sonoma, just outside of Healdsburg, California. The full account is covered in The SF Examiner , but I can report that the limo ride and the winery and company were fun. Stay tuned for the video of the trip. If you want to learn more about Liza The Wine Chic, visit her website at http://lizathewinechick.com

The SF Sentinel now reports a story we first broke at this blog where Larry Bowoto , the Nigerian man who claims he was shot by persons employed by Chevron, and whom Chevron points to as the person who held their employees hostage for several days, has dropped his lawsuit claim of human rights violations. The Sentinel observes: It is looking more and more likely that Bowoto and 150 of his compatriots took over the Chevron oil platform off Nigeria in a hostage takeover — which is far different from their claims of human rights abuse. The trial is in September.

According to today's NY Times , the newspaper industry is in trouble, as papers suffer from competition from the Internet. The SF Chron has been losing $1 million a week since last year. As Tim O'Reily wrote last year, he reads the online version of the SF Chron 95 percent of the time, and the "offline" version about 5 percent of the time. That's probably true for me, as well, but Tim and I are both in the Internet business. What can be done? Well, my answer is "nothing" -- the offline news people have to adjust to this New Media world, as do institutions and PR people who have been oriented toward using offline newspapers to get the news out. This also includes sports leagues like the NFL, which has a long standing relationship with such organizations as The Associated Press, but not the Huffington Post , which draws 14 million visitors a month. The SF Chron seems to be trying to find its way on The Internet, where it gets about 5 million visitors

This video covers the events outside San Francisco City Hall involving the first day of legal same sex marriage in San Francisco: Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 5:38 PM. A historic news and politics event. I went with the objective of determining the opinions of people in the crowd. I even met a woman from Oakland holding a sign that read "Hetero Couples For Gay Marriage".

This bit of news from the SF Chronicle focuses on the Oakland Food Scene: Switching bait: Oakland's Pearl Oyster Bar & Restaurant (5634 College Ave., near Shafter) closed on April 7, but according to manager Micaela Gardner it's hardly the end for the Rockridge seafood house. After a few weeks' transition and a light remodel, Pearl will become Water Lounge, a raw bar, under Pearl owner Rick Tyler and much of the rest of the current management team. With luck, the opening date will be around May 19, Gardner says. Late hours and a full bar will be two of the attractions, as will a menu of mostly uncooked seafood. According to Gardner, that will allow for a smaller staff than Pearl's. "I'll have my pick of the litter," she says. Pearl opened in 2004 with Mark Lusardi as chef. When Lusardi left, Jonathan Luce, who had been in the kitchen since the opening, took over. Luce left in June and is now chef de cuisine at the newly opened Bellanico (4238 Park Blvd

In San Francisco, the second annual International African Marketplace (IAM) brought music, dance, food, art and crafts of the African Diaspora to the Bayview-Hunters Point district on three consecutive weekends in September. The IAM ran from 12 to 5 p.m. on September 15-16, 22-23 and 29-30 at the Bayview Opera House located at 4705 Third Street at Oakdale Avenue, easily accessible from the MUNI "T" line. Admission was free. The IAM is a celebratory series of events and activities of cultural diversity representing the African Diaspora and its cultural influences worldwide. It serves as a venue for all cultures of the African Diaspora and as a rallying point for coordinating resources in the African-American business, social service and art communities. It further serves as a cultural destination for tourists and residents. By presenting global goods and wares of the African Diaspora, local vendors will recreate a cultural destination venue within the Bayview-Hunters Point co

The San Francisco Bay Area Interactive Group or "SF-BIG" asked me to make this video of their "Reach" event held March 20th, 2008 at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. The topic was on what ad firms look for in digital ad talent and what advantage -- if any -- San Francisco has as a center of digital media. The panelists included Melinda Mettler (Academy of Art School of Advertising), Alyson Hyder (Avenue A | Razorfish); Bernie Albers (Federated Media); and David Greenwald, (i2iplacement). In all it was a great event and the breakfast was terrific.

Hammer talks about his new venture DanceJam.com at The BizWorld Luncheon held last December 4th 2007 in San Francisco.

I had the pleasure of attending a great lunch event. YouTube Co-Founder Chad Hurley was the featured guest at the BizWorld.org luncheon on December 4th, 2007. He was introduced by MySpace Co-Founder Brett Brewer and interviewed by Tim Draper, VC & Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. In the talk, Draper asked Hurley questions surrounding YouTube after its acquisition by Google, and really focused on the changing landscape of the online advertising industry and how YouTube was responding to it. Hurley said that Youtube's success rests in the constantly growing inventory of video content that people want to see. As for the Google relationship, Hurley commented on their food and the large resource base that they have at their disposal for growth and for legal protection, although he didn't say that directly. Hurley also pointed to YouTube's new relationships with educational institutions like UC Berkeley and MIT, where students can view class lectures online.

Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to the owner of Easy Lounge on Lakeshore and where I had the very unpleasant encounter which I openly attributed to racism. Without going into detail about the conversation, I can happily report that the matter was taken care of. But there's one thing I have to adress, as the owner asked me "Why did you assume racism?" My answer was long and heartfelt. I explained that first his employee's treatment of me was exclusive to me -- not anyone else -- and I'd just arrived. Second, we'd never met before. Third, it was dismissive. Fourth, racism is a form of rejection and given that I had no other personal reference point with him, and a lot of experience with racist episodes that were similar in profile, I felt justified in my conclusion. He understood. I think Kolin, who owns Easy, is a good person who's trying to have an estatablishment that's a positive part of the Lake Merritt and Oakland experience.

Hot Pink Feathers is the popular dance group that performs at Cafe Van Cleef (on 1621 Telegraph in Downtown Oakland) on the first Saturday of each month. This video -- their "Christmas Video" done by me -- is based on clips made at that event. Come see "The Feathers" at Cafe Van Kleef or whereever they appear. Visit their website at http://www.hotpinkfeathers.com

Bloggers like Refin and Nancy Friedman have openly pointed to Oakland's chronic lack of retail venues during the holidays. Friedman writes... It's prime shopping season, and my fair city is in a world of hurt. The weekend before last I attended a town meeting convened by my city councilwoman at which a consultant delivered the depressing news that Oakland is losing $1 billion a year in potential retail sales to neighboring cities. (In the trade, that's known as "leakage.") Once upon a time, downtown Oakland was home to four major department stores, a big furniture store, and several swanky boutiques. The tide began turning in the 1980s, thanks to lackluster leadership, rising crime, and general cluelessness. The Loma Prieta earthquake, in 1989, delivered the coup de grâce. Some downtown structures were never repaired and remain vacant. Today Oakland, a city of about 400,000, has only one department store: Sears. To shop at Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Home D

I just returned from a brief trip to Easy Bar on Lakeshore Avenue. I don't frequent the establishment, but time-removed from the opening-day episode where it seemed that the White male bartender employees were being way too macho with their patrons of color, including yours truly, I gradually went back to the place. Easy's got a nice decor and I have personally felt that it's good to support Oakland business, rather than jaunt over to San Francisco. Plus, I had a programming assignment, finished it early, went shopping late, and figured, what the heck, I'll give Easy a try and go home and get some sleep. Well, I walked in sat down, and waited. And then I waited. And then I elected to give a glance and one of the two White make bartenders finally came over and took my order and made the cocktail. Fine. After about 10 minutes of looking at a high movie screen, I had an idea for a political fundraiser that I could do there. So, even though I know the owner's on

This is a music video shot impromptu at a place called The Stork Club on 2330 Telegraph Ave. I just happened to have my camera and they were cool with it. Here's the result!

And so ends an era of politics, fear, violence, and murder. Black Muslim Bakery in Oakland officially sold By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUNE Article Last Updated: 11/30/2007 08:46:41 AM PST OAKLAND - A - U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has approved the sale of the defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery's North Oakland headquarters for use as a nonprofit center serving people with AIDS and other critical illnesses. In a hearing Thursday afternoon, Judge Edward Jellen authorized court-appointed trustee Tevis Thompson to sell the property at 5832 San Pablo Ave. for $1,052,000 cash to NCK LLC, a partnership buying the property for Vital Life Services. The money will go toward satisfying the bankrupt bakery's creditors, including an investment fund holding the mortgage on the building, the Internal Revenue Service, and the state Franchise Tax Board, among others. Jellen also approved a back-up offer of $1,051,000 tendered by Paulette Arbuckle, a North Oakland woman whose real

Looking for Uptown, Cafe VanKleef, Air Lounge, Luka's and other Oakland nightspots and eateries? You can find them all here! Now, Oakland Focus has a new widget on the right where you can see the location of restaurants and nightspots in downtown Oakland and around Lake Merritt. Give it a spin and tell your friends! And stay tuned for more Oakland-specific tools here!

Click To Play This interview was conducted in 2003, just as the effort to restore the Oakland Fox Theater had embarked anew. Here, Phil talks about the importance of the involvement of minority contractors in the restoration of the Fox Theater. He also talks about how he and others have worked to draw more retail, and how now-former Mayor Jerry Brown helped in drawing institutional dollars to Oakand. Chauncey Bailey was murdered earlier this year.