Occupy Wall Street -- just venting

[channlluv]

I had jury duty today and during the lunch break, I walked down to the major mall downtown and came across a pretty anemic Occupy San Diego demonstration on the front steps. There were about twenty-five protestors and forty police officers, complete with a lineup of a dozen or more motorcycles parked in front of the mall entrance.

As I walked up, I threw a thumbs up to one of the guys holding a sign and got a smile -- they looked like a decent group of people, men and women, mixed ages, mostly on the hippy side -- I saw one guitar, several in Rasta braids, lots of Army Surplus couture, etc. As I threw the thumbs up to the guy, I turned toward the mall entrance and came face to face with the police officers there, one of which was looking at me like I was about to start something. I smiled and said, "Wow, we have more police officers here than protestors."

He nodded and said, "As it should be." I kept walking and to his partner, I spun my finger around in the air, indicating the area, and said, "Safest corner in the whole of downtown, right here."

Honestly, the police seemed really on edge and much more tense than the protestors. I was more nervous from them than from the protestors.

Later, in another area of the mall, I heard shouting and looked down from a second floor balcony to see a woman dressed in a maxi dress with a bandana on her head and a guy -- he was the one doing the shouting -- who had taken off his shirt and had someone write a big 99% on his back in Sharpie, and his shorts were hanging down around his lower hips and his very loud underwear were hanging out - like white with some kind of big, orange decoration - and he's holding a sign over his head and he's standing up on a raised flower bed wall and he's shouting at people walking by to go shopping in the mall.

I couldn't hear what he was saying, but by the time I got down to the ground floor -- it was time to get back to court -- the mall security had him back on the sidewalk and had made him put a shirt on and he'd stopped shouting at people and I found myself thinking, yeah, there's the guy that O'Reilly and Beck are holding up as the poster child of the OWS movement.

I can only imagine what Pam and her neighbors are having to put up with in the name of Democracy,

Roxy

[PamNY]

Local news story on neighborhood concerns.

"Good neighbor" policy is here (scroll down).

A more fun story on clothing, written by a fashion reporter.

[ny biker]

I do not understand what drumming for hours on end has to do with anything.

[Trek420]

Bono was supposed to play. He's busy so somebody has to do it.

[PamNY]

This should be funny.

Supposedly a Batman movie will be filmed in the neighborhood soon.

You never know with movies being filmed here -- sometimes you hardly notice them, other times it is hugely disruptive (I'm still complaining about Die Hard New York, and that's been a while).

Maybe they will hire the drummers.

[ny biker]

You never know with movies being filmed here -- sometimes you hardly notice them, other times it is hugely disruptive (I'm still complaining about Die Hard New York, and that's been a while).

Oy vey. That scene outside the subway station at 72nd and Broadway was near my apartment, and I was in a cab stuck in traffic while they were filming it. I wound up giving up on the cab and walking the last few blocks, trying to get around all the gawkers saying stupid things like "It looks like Bruce got a haircut." Like they knew him personally and saw him often enough to know when his hair changed.

When I saw the movie, I did not enjoy seeing buildings that I was familiar with being blown up. I enjoy that sort of thing even less now.

[bmccasland]

A more fun story on clothing, written by a fashion reporter.

I read that story, and despite the fact that the words are English, I couldn't understand what they were referencing. Is this what I get for not watching "What Not to Wear" for a year?

[ny biker]

I read that story, and despite the fact that the words are English, I couldn't understand what they were referencing. Is this what I get for not watching "What Not to Wear" for a year?

Stacy and Clinton do not recommend flannel or burly work boots. Ever. Ever ever ever.

[PamNY]

I wound up giving up on the cab and walking the last few blocks, trying to get around all the gawkers saying stupid things like "It looks like Bruce got a haircut." Like they knew him personally and saw him often enough to know when his hair changed.

That is such a perfect description of what happens in those situations.

[salsabike]

Good and interesting articles, those.

[channlluv]

Hey, Pam, is this your drummer on the Daily Show?

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tu...8-2011/the-99-




Roxy

[PamNY]

That looks like some of them.

I haven't seen the scary guy lately -- I think he may have been invited to leave.

[PamNY]

A little more detail on Batman's visit to my neighborhood. Might be a good time to go out of town -- but getting around in a car won't be fun.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/ny...l?ref=nyregion

[Trek420]

I agree with the aims of OWS but am a little nervous because I work here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_192112...rce=rss_viewed

[channlluv]

I LOVE that the Occupy people have overcome the removal of generators with bikes hooked to batteries, and those ten bikes are creating double the energy of the gas-powered generators.

Nice.