Letters

Nestor's a Poser
While deep down I've always suspected that behind Nestor Makhno's rantings there was a bit of capitalist envy, I liked to think in my naive heart that the world really was full of anarchist terrorists lurking behind every flagpole. Unfortunately, your picture of him ("He's Soooo Busted," Dog Bites, May 26) did nothing but verify my worst fear -- that for all his hollerings about yuppification, in reality he is of the gentry himself.

You can see it in his carefully put-together look: the stylish glasses, the I-bought-it-at-Banana-Republic-but-I'll-tell-you-it's-from-a-thrift-store shirt, that oh-so-trendy leather jacket, right down to his poet-turned-worker haircut. I suspect Nestor's frustration is that, while this kind of pose got the respect of the fringe in college, it just doesn't anymore.

We were all anarchists in our youth, but unfortunately, sour grapes don't buy the groceries. I'm sorry Nestor can't afford to eat at Blowfish Sushi, but that's a lifestyle choice writer/filmmakers make. Yet perhaps for him the pose is enough. With his carefully stepped-down look, he can inspire the peasants toward that unified class revolt he's read so much about. Of course, he's not really one of the trodden masses, but he's smarter than they are, and can clue them in to their situation.

Paul Miller
Cathedral Hill

Best Examples of the Dangers of Living in the Past
While pleased that you gave mention to "New Wave City" in your recent Best Of San Francisco 1999 issue ("Best Place to Disabuse Yourself of the Notion That the '80s Were the Best Years of Your Life," May 19), I'm disappointed that you resorted to the usual tired old cliches in referring to the event.

Although most "NWC" fans will recognize the tongue-in-cheek nature of your review, it also served to lampoon and trivialize an event whose purpose is not to revel in mainstream '80s pop culture, but rather to recognize and celebrate the truly groundbreaking music that emerged in an era before "alternative" became just another overused buzzword.

Cheers to DJ Shindog and the rest of the crew for putting together the concept and carrying the torch.

Brian Dulac
Via Internet

I read your article on "New Wave City" (Best Of San Francisco). Have you ever been there? Tributes to Madonna? Tears for Fears? "New Wave City" plays much less commercial crap than any other '80s dance place I've been to. If you want schlock, try that trashy new place on Eddy Street ("Right next to Union Square," their Web site says), Polly Esther's. Crappy music, unskilled DJs. "New Wave City" rules!

Ramon Vera and Michelle DeMello
San Mateo

I am an avid reader of SF Weekly since the paper's existence and was shocked, disappointed, and offended with your Y2KOK Best Of San Francisco 1999.

My friends and I are excited to have a big retro dance club like Polly Esther's ("Best Reason to Thank God We're in the '90s"). It's been a long time since we've had a fun place to go out and dance and actually know the music being played. Instead of just loud techno music that no one knows when one song ends and the other begins.

Plus, to categorize me as a Gap-wearing suburbanite is quite offensive. I have lived and worked in the city for the past 12 years, and this is the best club I have seen. I do not wear Gap jeans, nor do I live in the suburbs! How can one person's review differ from the thousands of young professionals that frequent the club each weekend?

Matti Cohn
Via Internet

Best Sideways Pitch for a Ballot Initiative
You mention City Hall's escalating back-room bureaucracy in your recent Best Of San Francisco issue. However, your "Best Response to Requests for Public Records" item may have left the impression that the problem is of concern mainly to reporters and editors. I'm sure this was inadvertent.

Every citizen has equal rights with media personnel to obtain and review every public document, and while the media may be in a better position to have a letter-writing lawyer handy, most citizen watchdogs, and there is a blessed army of them in San Francisco, do not have such connections, or have worn them out years ago.

It is for the benefit of our City Hall watchers (most of whom operate very close to the edge of insolvency) as well as the media that a group of activists have banded together to put a sunshine reform initiative on the ballot. You are correct in asserting that until there is a punishment for covering up the truth, City Hall will continue the secret deals, graft, and corruption, perhaps in perpetuity. An opportunity to put teeth in our sunshine laws is out there on those yellow petitions that are flying around the street corners of San Francisco. We need to get 10,511 signatures to qualify for the ballot and time is running out. I hope that you will keep your eye on that prize, and not be diverted by a sense of competitiveness with the Bay Guardian, regardless of its amusement value.

Doug Comstock
Haight-Ashbury

Best Example of Missing the Boat
How dare you! In your Best Of San Francisco 1999, you titled one item "Best Place to Dine in the Mission Without Having to Feel You've Left the Marina." San Francisco is known for its cultural diversity, and that's why people visit the city.