First of all, one truism I’ve picked up in the 00s is that any time someone says “it’s all good”, the one thing for sure is it definitely isn’t all good. Secondly, “life is good” is the mantra you repeat when the germans come to take your children away to death camps.

If that’s just you doing your Stuart Smalley impersonation, then hats off. But if that’s really you talking, it only highlights the problem with not just the 00′s but dare I say also with the “new San Francisco”. Sure, there’s always been tensions between newcomers and natives here, but for the most part they both shared an understanding that life is gritty and not all fun and smiles.

It’s a shame to watch what’s happening to SF now that it’s a place that has well paid jobs for generic 20 somethings with IT degrees. Until very recently if you were a 20 something bohemian/whatever, you came here despite the lousy job market. Now the city attracts the kind of people who want good jobs right out of college. The difference may seem trivial, but it’s not.

Honestly, I don’t usually care much either way, but the fact that people get so annoyed by graffiti is ridiculous. As I’ve said…what about the billboards?

Jerry Reed does rule though. In my iTunes, “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” comes on right after the first Jenny Lewis album, and I LOVE that transition. But don’t get me started on the ’70s. I love them through and through.

The truth is, I love all decades. They’re all CHOCK FULL of great stuff. I really just took issue with your saying one particular decade wasn’t any good. THEY’RE ALL GOOD. LIFE IS GOOD.

Both decades suck, don’t kid yourself.

BTW, since when has graff and taking flix been a 00′s phenomenon? Doesn’t that go back to the 70s? NYC up in here?

“down with flawless pieces of property!”

um, sorry, i don’t understand this at all.

guys, the revolution is not about keeping things gritty and lauding punk-ass taggers because it makes us feel like things are still comfortably gritty and nothing’s changing….

that train has left the station and it’s a losing battle. if all we do is look backward, you can count on it….the neighborhood we know and love – what’s left of it – will be gone, and all we’ll have is yuppie condos and paxton fucking gate.

unless there’s an inclusive and forward-looking voice, money will always win. it’s just a matter of time.

the revolution is about making the neighborhood safer and better for everyone, and improving everyone’s quality of life.

And, in other news…

The 00s are where we’ve seen the internet mature. For better or for worse, things that were super nerdy, dorky, etc. in the 80s and 90s have become mainstream. A majority of high school students would now rather be smart than athletic or popular. That sounds pretty rad to me.

Pop culture has always been shitty, there just hasn’t been an easily accessible counter-culture to compare it to. Maybe you think New Wave is cool, but I guess that would be the shitty pop culture when you compare it to Rites of Spring, Minor Threat, etc. Now, at least, there’s some decent TV, some decent music, some decent clothing that’s really accessible to anyone and everyone. But maybe that’s what you find so negative.

It does suck that most of the counter culture has become so consumer/image driven, but that was the dominant culture in the 80s and 90s. At least now there’s an emphasis on sustainability and cheapness as opposed to expensive clothes and expensive cars.

Oh, yeah, and the whole internet thing, the thing that allows us to have this enlightening dialogue, has pretty much come to a certain sort of maturity in the 00s. This has certainly influenced the culture and vice versa.

Ok… so back to the stuffy guys complaining about graffiti as if it’s their god-given right to own a flawless piece of property on this great earth.