Belated Obamania

****I would like to preface this post with a preemptive apology to immediately blogging about Barack Obama. However, I can assure you that it lacks the substantive qualities to make it nothing more than mildly entertaining.****

After spending the most heated months of this past 2008 election season in Mexico, I missed Obamania at its apex. Rather than being bombarded by Shepard Fairey's famous, and now highly disputed, rendering of President Obama, or images of supporters turned teenie boppers that appeared to be attending an Elvis concert, I had the internet and the occasional student(s) who had caught the "si se puede" international enthusiasm. Unfortunately, returning in late-November the immense amount of hope the public had was inevitably tempred by the enormous task our country faced. Yet, throughout it all, Obama merchandise never skipped a beat. We have all read the stories about the Obama economy and how he propogated a boom in Obama-related merchandise. Of course, shirts, hats, bumper stickers, art, etc., were all donned by supporters across the country. I have come across a couple gems recently that I wanted to share....

This first piece of Obama swag hangs above my desk in my room. This is how I acquired this gem. I went to one of the dollar stores on Divisadero about two months ago to buy some odds and ends. Hoping to save a little dough, I bought some of the more mainstream, reliable products. At the register I came across some 2009 Obama calendars, with one in particular catching my eye. As you can see, it's rectangular and has small pictures of Bob Marley, Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, the King Family, and Colin Powell across the top. Quite a cast--I would like to get all them in a room (to talk). Below the superfriends is the entire Obama family, posing perfectly with a giant presidential seal in the background. It's the most goddamn beautiful thing ever. At the bottom of the pic, it says "Barack (in cursive) Obama (in block lettering). and below the block lettering reads, "And the 1st Family." I can only imagine the amazing sitcom intro music playing as they took this shot. And of course, the calendar poster is colored like a mai tai. It's amazing. Something tells me that Quincey Jones had a hand in this. I don't why. Maybe it's because I know his scent. Picture below-not of Quincey.

The other Obamania encounter I had recently is possibly the only thing that trumps my coveted poster calendar. There is a plaaaace deeeeeep in the Fillmoooore...kidding. Charlie's Pharmacy is at Fillmore and Golden Gate. It's a pharmacy in the traditional sense: it doesn't have meds you may need or want, but you can buy cigarettes, diapers, candy and motor oil. The essentials. If it's raining they have their share of skittle-colored umbrellas, too. But the real draw of Charlie's Pharmacy is the back counter, where the liquor is sold. Run by a large, swarthy (not a racist term; look it up) man, who doesn't seem to be Charlie, it's not one of the more comfortable counter-approach experiences.

If you don't succumb to the initial intimdiation, you will see a large menu hanging above the counter with various drink concoctions I commonly refer to as "crunk juice." You request your drink and they give you a brown bag with all the ingredients in air-plane size booze bottles. You can request a styrofoam cup with cap and straw for more covert street/stoop drinking, although ice is essential in my mind. A single crunk juice will run you anywhere from $6-12 depending if you're mixing the good stuff, and the clandestine drinking paraphenalia is all part of the service.

One of about 15 crunk juices is the "Gettin' Hyphy," which is a a Mac Dre (R.I.P.) Energy Drink, Seagrams Apple Vodka, and Seagrams Peach Vodka. The other night, I had the "True Blue" with blue Alize (French vodka, congac, cherry and ginger), Smirnoff Rasberry Twist vodka, and Seagrams Peach Vodka. I think it's important to stress that crunk juice does what its name purports: it will crunk you up. We're talking infused booze on infused booze, mixed with energy drink. Needless to say, one drink can take run-of-the-mill spasiness and send one into Triple-6 Mafia club frenzy.

However, neither of the aforementioned libations are the top seller. "The Obama," continues to ride high in public opinion polls, conducted within Charlie's premises. The mixologists at Charlie's have decided that The Obama should consist of pineapple juice, apple vodka, tequila, and apple pucker, ultimately forming a greenish-yellow hue. At first glance, I wanted to give them credit for using facts to conceive such a drink. I thought: "Obama is from Hawaii; they're using pineapple juice. Nice job." But I couldn't pinpoint where apples or tequila played into Obama's past. Maybe it's his fruit and booze of choice? Either way, I can't back that up.

This popular street cocktail runs for $8 bucks and people can't get enough of it. I had one and I can safely say that if it was the Robert Dole or John McCain, it wouldn't be as popular. If it was Barry Goldwater, it may sell. Barry is a solid name and I think the idea of gold water would intrigue a lot of people in the Fillmore. Hell, it intrigues me. But once again, Obama saves the day. He's a one-man stimulus package. The guy has got his hand in everything. His whole family keeps me posted on what day it is. It's my Obamaclock. And now he gets me drunk. It's a good set up for everyone. Too bad he wasn't around all those times I showed up to the airport half-drunk the day after my flight left?