Bury It

I WASN'T THERE --haven't heard much but I'm willing to bet Ronn Owens' fake remarks on Saturday at the Ray Taliaferro memorial service was more grating then a double root canal, so yes, BURY IT.

*Kenny Wardell, the sometimes PR guy and publicist for various TV and radio stations used to be a cool, warm presence. Now? More annoying then a Jan Wahl movie review, so yeah, BURY IT.

*The on-going abysmal habit of people being interviewed on radio and TV starting their response with …"So..." has reached the national screen: On Sunday's "Meet The Press", some legal guy from NBC uttered "so.." about every other sentence: BURY IT!

*KCBS yentas, Megan Goldsby and Carrie Houdesak--the latter with the worst voice in Bay Area media wouldn't be that awful if by chance they weren't on the air every other minute or so it appears. BURY IT!

*There's a group of lower-level staffers and interns at KTVU who read me and gossip out shit about anchors sleeping with women that are not their wife; OK, fine, send me pictures and/or texts to prove it and I'll go from there--otherwise, yes, BURY IT!

*The whack job that killed that young Davis cop deserves a supreme amount of investigative reporting, like, what were his motives (if any); was the three-car accident which was the scene of the crime; was their a connection? Did the shooter have some connection to the young woman police officer whom he shot close range several times. I want to know. You want to know. It's a tragedy, for sure, but there's a bigger picture here. Stop the BS and ask a few questions.

*KPIX and their revolving weather anchors in the morning --KCBS too. BURY IT!

*The "Ronn Owens Report", the most obnoxious, wasted 8 minutes or so of virtual DEAD AIR and a further embarrassment to the mattress man and his waning radio station: BURY IT!

*Every on-air person at KFOG or what's left of it: Talk about irrelevance --yes, please oh please, BURY IT!

*KQED Radio and TV; the most ridiculous, inane, insane, useless, boring content provider of all PBS and NPR affiliates: KQED was last cool about the time Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976.

*Michael Krasny's "Forum" show on radio; Krasny's interviews are about as compelling as a Emeryville strip mall. Just BURY IT!

*Mickey Luckoff used to be a bullying, mean-spirited asshole VP at KGO with all the warmth of a pit bull with its tail cut off...now Luckoff in his later years is the same venomous jerk without an office or title. He and Lowenstein deserve each other; their association now is just plain vomit material that oozes fake gratitude: BURY IT!

*KRON and its continuing embarrassment every day on Bay Area TV screens under this owner, that owner, whatever, it doesn't matter because after 2002, KRON became a house of ill repute: BURY IT!

*The Sunday Chronicle has become the Tuesday Chronicle: thinner and thinner --time to BURY IT!

*BOTH All-Sports radio stations here in this market are embarrassments --a literal waste of time and energy --dumb and dumber with hosts who have the mental fortitude of day-old oatmeal. BURY, BURY, hurry please.

*Pledge breaks on 415 Media: BURY IT! Guess what? I have, for the most part. Haven't had one in the new year and if you'd become a paid subscriber, a total end to requests. So do the good thing and hit my Pay Pal icon.

*The Peterson Dean guy: JUST BURY IT.

*Chef Ryan Scott: he hangs out with Owens, a sort of professional beard so from day one, yeah, we should have BURIED IT!

The Most Definitive Article You've Ever Read About The Old San Francisco; Memories Oh Memories (With Apologies to Herb Caen)

 SUNDAY NIGHT was big in my house growing up; as a kid in Oakland I used to hang around Chinatown and eat at the old Silver Dragon on Webster with my high-school buddies from Skyline. The big deal in the 70's was how to get inside the Silver Dragon--usually it required at least a 10-dollar tip and even that didn't guarantee admission past the long line.

We had alternatives --my family liked the Grotto in Jack London Square. Again, Sunday night. Packed, a sea of humanity; Italians, Jews, Irish, Mexican, Black, White, it really didn't matter because the Grotto had the best salmon and fillet of sole--you want spaghetti and meatballs? Step right up. Where's the bread? It's coming, no need to ask.

My deal as I got older was heading over to North Beach in the late 70's. That was the last time it was fully Italian and Molinari's ruled the landscape. Vintage old Gino &Carlo was a scene, nightly, out of a Hollywood movie. My first trip there was around 1982. I was 20. The first time I ever met Herb Caen was inside the joint. Classic look, classic place. Herb was holding court with Willie Brown and Wilkes Bashford--I think they were having nightcaps --whatever they were having seemed unique and important. How so? Because later on, Joe Alioto walked in and they all went to the back and closed the door. Another classic scene. I have no idea what they talked about but all I do know is that a very attractive woman server went to the room with lots of good red wine and explicit orders from Alfred the bartender. I was curious as all get-go, especially when the cops came in; later on I learned Gino & Carlo was the SFPD hidden oasis. Still is today too although like most of the city its lost a lot of its soul. I miss the vibe. I miss Alfred too with his wise-ass look and gestalt--one time I walked into the bar with a cigar. It was late at night and I was trying to act like a big shot and impress a girl. You could smoke in SF then but I was reluctant to light up my big stogie so I asked Alfred if I could have permission: "Can I smoke a cigar?" He responded, "I don't care if you smoke crack!" Ah, classic Sunday night response from the classic bartender.

North Beach, circa 1984. The Condor. Carol Doda. Café Sport where a bowl of pasta and sand dabs was about 20 bucks. The streets were clean and you could even park! MUNI was on time and there seemed to be lots of spirit--NO cranes too--bonus time. Stop the presses! Van Ness was still Auto Row and the big pick-up place was Lord Jim's. The Punch Line on Battery was the comedy destination --it was there regularly where the likes of Bobby Slayton, Bob Sarlatte, Steve Pearl and Alex Bennett used to hang out. Every now and then Robin Williams would sneak in late and go up onstage and do a rousing 30-minute set. Complete bedlam. If Robin didn't show up there was Dana Carvey. Dana wasn't as huge a star back then; neither too, Roseanne Barr; as a judge of the SF Stand-Up Comedy Competition, I met Barr there. I had no idea she would eventually end up on the Tonight Show a year later. Dammit, I could have been her Tom Arnold but we didn't mix; she wasn't my type. Thanks for caring.

Back to North Beach and beyond. I liked to walk around and scope the scene and what a scene it was. Fat Tony. Charming numbers runner, Davey Rosenberg, marching outside Washington Square doing favors for Sam Conti. 415 Good Fellas in action. Nobody got hurt for the most part. The food was good. The cops were cool. The girls looked spectacular. A little rancor every now and then. Especially good old Con Murphy. Reminded me of a cross between Charlie Gain and Al Nelder. Characters. All of them. They used to drink at Geno & Carlo and later on have dinner at House of Prime Rib. That's the usual run even today. Sunday night at the House. They used to line up at 3--the place didn't even open up until 4PM. Cocktails! First one who wins liars dice gets a dirty martini on me! Hide the salad and get the King cut going. "Where's my Yorkshire pudding, Alice?" "And can I have extra creamed spinach!" Mission accomplished.

SUNDAY night in the city. Young and handsome, even I had my moments. I used to know this blond named Esther --she worked at Macys part time, was a student at USF and was one hot broad! She was into the theatre and loved all music and play. Met her one night at the lobby bar inside the Fairmont Hotel. I was working at K-101 back then (doing sports and news/entertainment) and got to interview the likes of Joel Grey and BB King. Esther was impressed. We had center seats and coveted dinner service for the Grey cabaret in the divine Venetian Room. What a room. Herb Caen's favorite spot. Thanks Carol Vernier for taking care of yours truly with a big assist to Rick Swig, whose family owned the hotel back then. Still can't fathom the Fairmont as second banana in today's hotel wars. Just go inside the lobby and tell me you don't see magic.

I'm not a native San Franciscan but I have an appreciation of the city, maybe not so much the people because the people have changed; times have changed (naturally) and not all change is bad it's just that the city, in my opinion, has lost its soul. The city of  neighborhoods; its people, its characters, its artists have all but disappeared and that's just plain sad. I feel for the generation before me who were able to walk the streets and engage in real conversation. Today, the advent of cell-phones and social media has vaporized the radical concept of good old-fashioned conversation. You can't call anyone, it's against the law. To hell with discourse and the spoken word; you now must tweet and facebook it. Could you imagine Sinatra up on stage singing My Way and some tech schmuck playing with his smart phone? Get the goons, Frank is pissed! And truth be told, I'd pitch in five bucks for the execution.

Those were the days my friends ...Sunday Night. What theatre. What magic. What drama. Bill Graham. What tragedy. George Moscone. Joe Alioto. Leo Ryan. Harvey Milk. 1978. Richard Hongisto. Quentin Kopp. Diane Feinstein. Willie McCovey. John Rothmann. Dave's delicatessen. 1977. Star Wars. The Coronet at Geary and Arguello. Long lines. KGO Radio. Jim Dunbar. Owen Spann. Monte Stickles. Van Amburg. KGO-TV 277 Golden Gate Ave studios with Peter Giddings, John O'Reilly, Jerry Jensen. Jim Lange. Mayor Art Finley. Ronn Owens and Jan Black. Jerry Doyle. Peter Cleaveland "On the streets". The Studio Café across the street on GG Ave. KRON and PIX on Van Ness. Wayne Walker. "Mac". Hunan. Alfred's. Paoli's (If you didn't leave with a woman you didn't like women) Jim Eason. Ray Taliaferro. Ira Blue. Sonny Buxton. John L. Wasserman. Huey Lewis. John Fogerty. Saul Zaentz. Gerald Nachman. Stanton Delaplane. Charles McCabe. Art Hoppe. Art Rosenbaum. Wells Twombly. Ira Miller. Art Spander. Milt Kahn. Evan White. Jim Paymar. Cheryl Jennings. Art Cribbs. Carolyn Tyler. Valerie Coleman. Angela Alioto. The original Original Joes in the Tenderloin. Ben Williams. Joe Starkey. Bill King. Franklin Mieuli. Dick Vertlieb. Human tragedy. The Zebra Murders. Patty Hearst. Tania. SLA. Cinque. Donald Defreeze. Nancy Ling Perry. Mel's Drive In. Bill and Emily Harris. Dan White. Twinkie defense. Harry Denton. James J. Murphy. Tales of the City. Jim Jones. People's Temple. Willie Brown. Harvey Rose. Michael Zwerling. "NewsScene". Mike Hegadus. I'm Johnnnnn MACCCCFlanaghan, KYA! Dr. Don Rose. KFRC. Bill Lee. Dave, your duke, Sholin. Marvelous Mark McKay. Claude Mann. Marcia Brandwynne. George Reading. Belva Davis. Ed Baxter. Bob Melrose. Al Hart. Stan Bunger. Bob Jimenez. Rita Channon. Pete Wilson KRON/KGO. Joe Kapp. Tadich Grill. Spengers. Alioto's. Tommy's Joynt. Kwik Way/Oakland. Biff's. The International Hotel. The Hookers Ball. The Days on the Green. Tower of Power. Eddie Money. The Pointer Sisters. Carlos Santana. Blue jackets. The Paramount Theatre in Oakland. Fenton's. Doggie Diner. Quinn's Lighthouse. Jenner by the Sea. Santa Cruz. Beach boardwalk. Corn dogs. Saltwater taffy. It's it's. Al Attles. Rick Barry. Charles Johnson. Phil Smith. Charlie Williams. KSFO. Lon Simmons. Al Michaels. Don Klein. Monte Moore. Charley and Humphrey. Walt Harris. Bob Wilkens. Joe Angel. John The Count Montefusco. Chuck Muncie. Joe Roth. Memorial Stadium. Jim Plunkett. Gene Washington. Kezar Stadium. The Oakland Civic Auditorium. Keystone Corner. Todd Barkin. Top Dog on Durant in Berkeley. Keystone Berkeley. Neldam's Bakery. Candlestick Park. The Oakland Coliseum. The Oakland Arena. The Cow Palace. Gensler Lee Diamonds: the store with the heart! Top of the Hill, Daly City! Eddie Alexander: Good luck everybody! Gregg Jordan. Russ Coughlin. Bill Fiset. Gary Fiset. Golden Gate Productions. FM Productions. The Fillmore. Winterland. Joel Selvin. Dick Bright. Alex Bennett. Gil Haar. Mike Pechner. Harry Geiss. The US Festivals. Steve Wozniak. Roy Steele. Kenny Stabler. Art Thoms. Billy Kilmer. Nate Thurmond. Glenn Dickey. KDIA. KFOG. KSAN. KPFA. Dario's Pizza. Mel Belli. 700 Montgomery Street. K101. Playland at the beach. Snow cones. Kasper's hotdogs. Boz Scaggs. The Balboa Café. Perry's on Union Street. Tower Records. The Marina Safeway. Victoria Station (and tell 'em Johnny Cash sent you!)

I'm tired.

Inevitably, I left someone or something out. Apologies.

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Branding; KNBR, Your Giants Flagship Station Sends Nobody To Cover World Series While 95.7 The Game Sends Damon Bruce; Henry Wofford Thinks He's God; Sunday Notes

 SUNDAY COFFEE

*A brand is important; think news on the radio, think KCBS; think news updates, sports at "15 and 45", "traffic on the 8's"; top and bottom of the hour national news from CBS.

News-talk? In the old days, KGO, of course. Think for a moment when there was an earthquake, people would turn on KGO to hear those nasal voices describe the quake, however big or little. Case in point, the moderately strong temblor in Napa last August. Most of you went to KCBS instead because KGO is out of the newstalk business.

Branding. "KTVU News"--sure meant a lot in the old days, now just a regular, (or lately, irregular), local TV News station. KRON too, largely an albatross these days, but always news and information. Not anymore but under the circumstances, doing just as fine, and sometimes even better than the other guys.

*Officially now the latest most annoying and irritating radio/TV commercial: Erik Estrada's endless Cache Creek chortling jingle. Life after CHIPS. I hated that show. Still hate it. Bye Ponch and take your game show with you.

*Credit where credit is due: While I'm not a fan of 95.7 The Game for the most part, kudos for sending Damon Bruce to KC to cover the entire! Giants World Series Game 6 and 7. KNBR, the alleged "Sports Leader," didn't send one reporter, not even Marty Lurie, to cover the Series. Murph and Mac were late to the proceedings and Murph and Mac are not reporters. The Giant's flagship station used to "cover" sports back in the old days --now they run commercials and have ditzy traffic reporters do sports updates.

*Speaking of sports, I attended the Warriors home opener in Oakland Saturday night. Ran into ace play-by-play broadcaster, Tim Roye. Good man. Terrific on the radio. And now aided considerably by color analyst, Tom Tolbert, who arrived in the press room looking like he was attending a Grateful Dead concert.

*Henry Wofford, Comcast anchor: be advised there's a real world out there --try not to act as if you're God's gift to the world. I know it's tough, but just pretend. HA, ha, ha, ha!

*Let me be clear: Ed Baxter is a fine and capable radio guy. Just my opinion: he's not a good talk-show host. He's like beige wallpaper--nobody's offended. Or to put it another way: Who shows up to see the opening act of a Stones show? I rest my case.

*The man never sleeps: KNBR Radio remote engineer for the Giants and Warriors, Lee Jones. Sitting in the press room at Oracle Arena Saturday talking about the beauty of Kansas City. From KC to Oakland barely more than 72 hours. Jones has been doing his gig for 450 years and may be more bullet-proof than cockroaches and taxes.

*Belva Davis: eternal class.

*If it's true that the Chronicle is losing roughly a million bucks a week, that's $52 million a year. Good thing Hearst has deep pockets.

*Stan is insane, sort of in a funny way. I allow some of his material on the comment section because, yes, I find him funny. Repetitious, occasionally annoying and bizarre? Yes, Yes, Yes! And keep in mind, we're talking about the Internet, where everything goes. You want journalism? Read David Carr in the NY Times. (Who's great, by the way.)

*Christ, Stan and the NY Times in the same item, I need a xanex.

*Barbara Simpson was attacked and beaten, allegedly by her daughter, in her Orinda home last week. The former KSFO/KTVU media rep was pretty badly bruised but is expected to make a full recovery, I wish her well.

*Yeah, I slightly praised Gary Radnich the other day for his singular work on Knibber, I try to be fair. When I see or hear crap, I rip. When I see or hear good work, I will praise. See the 95.7 FM item above.

*Radnich embellishment: Yes, he works much better alone and if it were up to him, he'd be alone. While all the other screamers in this town were embarrassing themselves out at the parade, Radnich was telling everyone, (quietly), to stop cheering in the pressbox. It was, once again, a welcome respite from all the lunatics making fools of themselves on Market Street. Half the morons aren't even from San Francisco. Two Comcast clowns "anchoring" from the dais are out-of-towners. Most of the reporters were more interested in sniffing jock hood than doing their job.

Radnich is a pain in the ass at times, more so lately, but when he stands out and gives us all a good lecture on keeping things in perspective, he shines. I, for one, appreciated it. When he does the Rickles act at inappropriate times, I'll call him out; when he does the you gotta have kids to be something shit; when he kisses Kate Scott's ass, (figuratively, of course), I'll call him out. 'Nuff said.

*Of course I was joking about Da Lin and Mr. Spock but you asshole no sense-of-humor morons in this PC-laden world are quick to bite. For one, I know Da Lan and like him and his work too. We've met, he laughs a lot. I think he gets it. And another thing? I don't care what you think.

*By the way, Mr. Spock was cool. Ask my Star Trek correspondent, Zennie Abraham.

*Jason Barrett: When managers are on a 10-game losing streak, they pick line-ups out of a hat. You might want to consider that and your morning show.

*Orange ties on anchormen looks positively ridiculous and I don't give a damn if they're Giants fans. So there.

*I want to conduct a scientific study and talk to people who actually listen and call Ronn Owens. Seriously. You have my e-mail address.

*Michael Krasny--KQED. Could have been in the Belva Davis item but screwed it up somehow. Maybe, Mike, look up the word, "humility", in the dictionary.

*You don't get it: It was NOT about David Weintraub being dumped by KGO; that wasn't the item. It was about the people inside that got him fired. You'll know the full story soon.

*Courage is fighting in a remote battlefield in Afghanistan; risking your life trying to save someone trapped in car on fire or in a house ablaze. Not doing a live shot from a parade or acting giddy over getting Hunter Pence exclusively to ask him, "how does it feel?" Some of you need to get a life.

*Feldy and Fareed: see above. (Although you weren't alone).

*Amy Hollyfield/ABC7: seriously...

*Roberta Gonzales: I've praised you and think you're cool, especially considering the guy that bullied you, but your work at the parade was over the top. Cmon Robby, you're better than that.

*Joe Fonzi: Mr. 1982 only it's not 1982 anymore, Joe.

*Mark Ibanez: Tainted.

*Sal Castaneda: Not an ounce of phoniness --native San Franciscan --so he's allowed to be a little excited at the parade. Life-long Giants fan. Good guy too, and even better: consistent.

*Best parade coverage in order:

1. KGO-TV

2. KNTV

3. KRON

4. KPIX

5. KTVU

*Rich Lieberman and 415 Media are not responsible for comments made by others on this website.

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The Sunday 415 Media Poll: Who Was The Greatest SF Bay Area TV Anchor?

Dennis Richmond

 

Dave McElhatton



Van Amburg



Evan White



Kate Kelly



Marcia Brandwynne

Pete Wilson

Bob Jimenez

Ask Rich Lieberman

Ask Rich Lieberman 415 Media

Fire away!


*Rich Lieberman and 415 Media are not responsible for comments or opinions expressed by others on this web site.

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Things That Annoy Me

 *Joan Lunden and her senior-care ads which have made a noble cause into an instant tune-out factor.


*The new rock and roll/country 800-Kars-For-Kids jingles--call the cops, quick!


*Anchors who say, "Thank You", after the sports guy or weather guy are done with their report--how about smiling and moving forward. It's their job!, don't thank them. Just go back and read the next story.


*MOS actualities from Walnut Creek, Burlingame, Pleasanton, and other designated White people-mixed with token minority zones. For once, how about getting a man on the street in Richmond. Wait, too many black people.


*The radio schmucks who insert, "we'll talk about that ...on the other side." On the other side? How about, "when we get back we 'll do this or interview him/her?" How did this crappy, "On the other side" enter the lexicon? It's called pretentious and lazy. It's a slick way to act cool and it's as annoying as all hell. STOP IT!


*Grown men, even frat boys who insist on uttering "dude" every minute. In addition to the fact only morons in their 40's call one another dude, it's highly irritating and gruesome verbal manslaughter. Dudes is barely passable at college fraternity houses where they chug 20 vats of beer every weekend. At least they have an excuse, dude!


*Guys in their 40's who use their sound board on radio as a sexual metaphor --(psst, the password is: masturbation).


*Weather labs on TV News: about as worthy as fog in the Sunset in July.


*"Investigative Units": By definition shouldn't  ALL reporters be investigating? Never mind.


*"World Cup fever in US": Please, just spare me, said a million times that WC fever in the US is for yuppies who don't watch sports like American football, baseball, basketball and another excuse to get hammered during the week in Summer. I know about the ratings but then why hasn't soccer been successful here in the states? Because it's a BORE, there, I said it! Kick me.


*All the "Insiders." Oh, don't get me started.


*Cheryl Jennings: Here I was told she was a nice woman. Yo, Cheryl, you have NO personality. And it wasn't me who made the decision to say, "bye-bye" in December.


*Spencer Christian: See above.


*Live shots at SF bars with the drunk yuppies after the World Cup, (like Sunday night after the final). BORING and LOUD and STUUUUUUPID! ANNOYING TOO!


*Tom Raponi, ex-GM, KTVU and Boy Wonder, Lee Rosenthal, soon to be ex-ND, KTVU: Good riddance. By the way, Boston can hardly wait for ya! Like cockroach excrement. Enjoy the nice winters.


*Jacqueline Bennett: KRON Weather: Hey, Jacky, you're in a nice market making decent money and doing a job without lifting and lots of guys love you. RELAX!, have fun, SMILE, cheer up girl! There's a fucking war going on in many places on the planet, people are being tortured, you know, real important LIFE stuff, take a deep breath and ENJOY yourself, chill!


*Aaron Pero: Oh, man, I thought I had issues.


*Me: I'm getting annoyed at myself thinking about the amount of superficial assholes in this market I've written about--be lucky you're even acknowledged. Half the people don't really give a shit to tell you the truth, although they confide in me, go figure. (Well, at least some do.)


*Allison Janney: Go take your Kaiser ads and please, chicky girl, shut up already. There's your happy ending.


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Rich Lieberman
Sunday
SF-Oakland-San Jose

A Classic Mother's Day Ritual In My Family: Spenger's in Berkeley; Memories Galore and The Bread, The Bread!

 Today like a lot of you I'll be celebrating Mother's Day with my great mom, my rock, my heroic woman.


We had a ritual on this day--a visit to an institution: Spenger's, in Berkeley. The greatest restaurant in the world until, naturally, new owners a few years back renovated and restored the old place--essentially yuppified it and totally wrecked the joint.


Those twelve of you that don't know Spenger's should understand it wasn't merely a seafood place--that would do it a mother of all injustices.


It had a vibe, a presence --Mother's Day, Father's Day, hell, any day for that matter, Spenger's was the place to hang out and eat. The prices were ridiculously reasonable and the loaf of sourdough bread alone was worth the price of admission. I grabbed 3 or 4 loafs and gave the union waiter a couple of bucks and he nailed me some and placed them in a bag with enough butter to last through a month. Gosh, how good that bread was but bread was just the start--assuming of course you managed to get in.


At Spenger's, the wait, on a good night, was 45 minutes. On Sunday, at least two hours. My late brother, Michael would have none of that. It eventually came to my family's notice that Mike had to have slipped the hostess a 10-spot because we always seemed to get a table right away. Da-dum!


Mind you sitting in this place was only the beginning. Every room had a name. The waiters wore classic white aprons --real old school. And everything tasted great. You like sand dabs? You got great sand dabs. Me being a traditionalist  always went for the old stand-by: the CAPTAIN'S PLATE! Nirvana. Abalone, (the real stuff then), shrimp, regular deep-fried stuff that was enhanced with globs of tartar sauce and fries. I was in heaven. Mom always ordered the filet of sole. No mater what. Mel, my dad, had a thing for salmon. My sisters, I had no clue what they ordered because I was too busy on the Captain's Plate and my brother was nailing the swordfish and clam chowder, white, by the way, always, along with the bread. That was just the start mind you between the people-watching and our own table of screamers and yellers, mind you we're talkin' Jewish family here. Fortunately, the noise inside diffused our own Lieberman noise and that's a good thing. We hadn't made it through dessert before my mom and sisters were screaming and yelling at one another. Fortunately coffee saved the day. And if I was good, a second Mickey Rooney from the bar was on its way. If you're a young kid at Spengers, a Mickey Rooney was your kiddy vodka. It tasted just right and the compelling cherry on top was the topper.


Spenger's brings back pleasant memories. Family. Friends. Sunday evenings. It all seemed too good to be true. The joint was always jumpin' and the old-fashioned foodie virtues were one of a kind. Damn, some of the wildest memories. My late Uncle Al, Aunt Claire and Duddy. My brother's friend, Alan and the rest of the clan. It was Berkeley old-school but really more a Bay Area institution and it did a helluva business--breakfast mind you was a classic. And the crowds were decent enough that you didn't have to wait--again we had a luxury in that department with Mike, my brother but you get my drift.


Today, we will saunter over to my sister's place and celebrate with Mom on this day with a little BBQ in the backyard. I wish I could go back in time and get a table for 8 in the, I think they called it the "Teak Room?"--something like that. Even Herb Caen was a regular at Spenger's--the old place, not the rubbery fake one that stands today but times, yes, they-a-changin'.


I hope all of you have a great day. Say hi to mom for me and enjoy.


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The Best bRACKet in the Bay Area: KTVU's Rosemary Orozco plus Sunday Nuggets

 I tune in Weekend "Mornings on 2" on KTVU --I'm more keen on the weather reports and the talents of Rosemary Orozco, call me curious.

*Clear Channel is able to operate with about $21 billion worth of debt. It's a toxic asset. Think of those of you that have ten credit cards, six or seven of which are maxed out so you use the others to pay down the maxis --Clear Channel has about a gazillion dollars worth of credit cards --they're all maxed but unlike you and me they get to keep on using theirs.

*If they nixed out Gil Gross and Frosty the Snowman that would free up about six bucks.

*Sarah and Vinnie from Alice: well-compensated groupies. Now put a lid on your disgruntled ex-comrades.

*CNN: PLANEly speaking, Jeff Zucker found a winning format. Screw those tiny little stories like Ukraine.

*Has there been any more satellite imagery from the Indian Ocean? We're due.

*It's not that Heather Holmes isn't worth nor talented it's more Allie Rasmus has the "IT" factor going for her: smart, quick, personality and just the right amount of gusto. And contrary to my anonymous anchor friend, she can ad-lib too. Extra credit points.

*Terry McSweeney-KNTV: better than first observed. And with Diane Dwyer and Rob Mayeda, a winning weekend news team.

*No, Marc Spears was not playing off the Ed Lee mangling of "Steve" Curry--he simply got an assist from some quick-thinking KNBR producer who bailed him out with a 3-point play.

*Damon Bruce Update: Even Hooters is reassessing.

*The figurehead Program Director at the alleged all-sports FM radio outlet is considering Brandon Tierney to join its morning zoo. I'm kidding of course but with this guy never rule anything out.

*Leslie Sbrocco: puff pastry.

*CSNBA's: Brodie Brazil: underrated.

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