What's Good Oakland?

This past weekend, Oakland was the star of America for 15 minutes. First, the release of Moneyball introduced the world to one of the greatest underdog stories the sport of baseball has ever seen. The movie is centered around Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's, and his breakthrough theory of using Saber-metrics for baseball in order to win at a truly unfair game. As the amazing reviews continued to roll in, the Oakland Athletics had incredible comeback victories in the 8th and 9th innings over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (their rival) to continue to show the league that even though they are out of the playoff hunt, they are still trying to win games for their organization. Next, the Oakland Raiders defeated the New York Jets in a dominating performance at the O.Co Colliseum in Oakland, exemplifying to the league that Raider Nation is back and they are not to be messed with. Finally, Rick Welts was hired as the President of Basketball Operations for the Golden State Warriors by basketball legend Jerry West. For those who don't know, Welts is the first openly gay executive in sports and he recently resigned from his position in Arizona in order to move closer to his partner in Sacramento. Not only does this show the progress of sports in general; but it shows how willing the Warriors are to judge a person by character rather than sexuality.



During the introductory press conference for Welts he proclaimed, "Today, I am the luckiest guy on the face of the earth," taking a page from Yankee great Lou Gherig. Welts left a relatively conservative Phoenix Suns team for one of the NBAs hottest and most progressive franchises, and with that he hopes to take the Warriors somewhere they havent been in over 30 years, a championship. "He's a superstar," said Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob. "Seriously. One of the very best." As the professional sports teams in Oakland continue to find their way, the city itself has been going through somewhat of a cultural renaissance as well. Jack London Square recently went through a significant gentrification by adding beautiful waterfront condos and a some new hot spot bars, Downtown Oakland has been expanding because of new upstart companies like Pandora, Sungevity, and Bright Source, and if the MLB realizes the gold mine in front of them by advising the team to build the new stadium on the water in Oakland, not only will it be the most beautiful park in baseball (Sorry AT&T) but it will give Oakland a chance to be the greatest comeback city in America (Sorry Detroit).





A new waterfront stadium in Oakland would give anyone and everyone a reason to visit Oakland instead of just being "that town next to SF". Oakland has had a very rough history; it has been riddled with violence and crime for the past 30 years but because of that tragic history people are so damn adamant to proclaim its wonder. Every person I know from Oakland has the same passion and love for our city because we all want it to grow out its unfortunate stereotype. We want people to check out Jack London, and the hills, and Downtown because we want people to see what we see, we want people to feel what we feel. With that being said, we absolutely need to focus on our schools as well as the crime but those issues take a long time to fix and also need a lot of money to help settle. Which is why I'm begging the MLB to make a decision on the new stadium... We have been waiting a dreadfully long 2 1/2 years to see what will be the future will be for our team and our city. And yes it IS the future of our city because if the A's move out of town, why wouldn't the other teams move? The Raiders will go to LA to get a new stadium, the Warriors will move to SF for a bigger market, and Oakland will be left with nothing. And if that does end up happening, Oakland will have no choice but to face its history and just be that town next to SF. So Oakland fans, stand up. Bay Area fans, stand up. Underdog fans, stand up and give this city its chance to be one of the best cities in the nation.

Lets Go Oakland.



P.S. I will be sending this article to the MLB Commissioner Bud Selig in hope for a response.

New Jack City

Rooftop Garden View at the Metropolitan Museum of New York

It seems as though On Top of the Hill has been on hiatus for a few months, but here I am in New York City with one week left on my heart pounding journey through America's toughest, strangest, and most incredible city and I definitely felt the need to say how much this town has meant to me.


Tommy's Rooftop spot


Manhattan via Brooklyn

In 24 hours, I packed up my house in SLO, watched my brother graduate college in LA, took a red eye, slept in Milwaukee, got Cam settled in Queens, met up with Adam in Manhattan, and threw one of the biggest bangers this town has ever seen. Since day one I've been on my grind... Which is lesson one:

If you're not on your grind like everyone else, you wont survive.

There is an aura of working chaos here that has infected everyone perfectly. People dont sleep, they need to work out, and they love to party. It all works together to keep the pace up as well as keep people moving. It seemed peculiar at first, coming from the Bay Area, but the longer I stayed here the more I understood. You have to work as hard as you can to get what you want, you need to fail in order to progress, and you need to have fun in order to stay sane. Which brings me to the second thing I've learned in the Big Apple.

Getting a building with roof access is like getting a signing bonus.

Rooftop parties are the shit. Everyone loves being able to settle down, take in the chaos, and reel at the beauty of this legendary city. Definitely one of the best roofs I have ever been to was for my girl Michelle's 21st birthday. 20th floor, amazing view of the New York skyline, good vibes, and having a keg all lead to a legendary night. For most of summer here in NYC, I was working in SoHo at a random clothing store. Nothing spectacular, but it did give me an opportunity to spend a lot of time in one of the trendiest spots in the world. SoHo is unbelievable but we've been trying to stay classy and going to as many museums as possible. Which leads me to my final lesson.

New York City Museums go hard in the paint.

In the past 2 months, I have seen at least four museums all over the city of New York. All four (The Metropolitan, Museum of the City of New York, The Museum of Natural History, and The Museum of Modern Art) house incredible buildings, each with their own style and genres. My favorite of which had to be the MoMA. Only In this six story ode to performance pieces and troubled artists has the world seen beauty and such pain mixed together so effortlessly. Seeing The Postman by Van Gogh or Les Demoiselles D'Avginon by Picasso in the flesh have given me a love for art that I would never have had unless I came to this incredible city.


Mad Decent Block party, South St. Sea Port

All in all, New York has welcome me with open arms and I can certainly see myself living here for an extended period of time. It's infectious. The people, the places, the parties have all shown me what it takes to work for something as hard as you can so you can make something of yourself. Now I have a few days left and will spend everyone likes its my last.

Cheers, New York.

Slocals Only

Here I am one quarter down, back on the grind at Cal Poly... I've just started watching Californication and I'm feeling a little like Hank Moody right now so here goes nothing for that drunken bastard/genius. Winter Quarter is over in SLO and Australia is long gone. However, its not as gloomy and sad as you might think. In the short time that I've been back in America I've seen more than a handful of friends from over seas so far. In two trips to San Diego, I've gone to two different shows, had two amazing times, and had way too much fun. We got to see Calvin Harris again, Steve Aoki, and Avicii all of who were unreal. Each DJ was completely different but ultimately had the same goal, rock the fucking dance floor... And if you asked anyone who was there, that mission was accomplished. Not only was San Diego crackin unlike any other city in america, we got to spend time with true friends which only made it more special. Don't get me wrong, San Luis Obispo is incredible (and the happiest city in America) but its pretty hard to compete with the Devon beach front atmosphere in sunny San Diego. Having said that, I do have to say how proud I am of the music scene here in SLO town. We have no one to thank other than Killa Cam for what I'm bout to drop on you folks. The man, the myth, the legend, THE Wolfgang Gartner will be gracing us with his presence in our little town on April 5th at the Grad here in SLO. This may not seem like a big deal, but for a MAJOR Dj to make a stop on his North American Tour in our fair city is borderline incredible. It just shows what a great atmosphere can do for a DJ and a dank ass company like Collective Effort to bring it all together. Now I just have to focus on finals, and get cruisin on to the next step in this journey called life. Until then enjoy the slice of slaps... SHOOTS!

Finals... AKA checking your facebook every 15 seconds.

Red Bull Flugtag, Sydney. Holla!

The sun is out shining, the trees are swaying in the breeze, and I'm sitting inside wishing I could enjoy the day... Bummer. But its finals time here at Macquarie University and some people have already left (Shout out to Lucas in Italia, do work brother) and others are gearing up to leave. Whats really a trip is how fast this thing came to a close... I have 2 finals left and then a week to cruise; then Herzi, New York, and I are going to Fiji to meet up with Bri guy and Philthy. Should be solid with a chance of epic...


This has really been an amazing trip so far; where in the world could I say I pet a kangaroo, snowboarded in August, and see the purest sand in the world? Australia thats where... (NZ can come too) Haha to be honest, it seems like a blur now though... All those Fridays at Ivy and Saturdays at Argyle have kinda blurred into one tremendous experience. I wish there was more time to see all the places on the map that ive spent time staring at, wishing I was there, but now thats just incentive to make some paper and come back. You feel me? But until then, heres my boys in the bay doing work on a new project. Holla at ya boy Zumbi!

The City of Oak, Smoke, and Broke

Vietnam, 1966. Oakland... Home


Most people have heard of the iddy biddy city by the water before. But most people have only heard horror stories of gang violence and murders. This is true, no doubt, that the violence that inhibits the city of Oakland has hindered its growth tremendously. But the troubles that this city has gone through has given it a soul, something only a few other cities can claim. Yes, its true that some say Oakland is the home of Funk, and I whole heartedly agree with that statement. Because throughout our history we have had some of the funkiest, crazy, clever characters this country has ever seen.


Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Bruce Lee all have been residents of our city at some point. Sports legends like Rickey Henderson, Leon Powe, and Marshawn Lynch have all gone through our gates. Even the first Medicinal Marijuana dispensary was founded in Oakland. Its people like these that make me proud to be from Oakland. And I'm not the only one, every street you walk down you'll see A's, Raiders, Warriors, and Oaklandish gear proudly rocked, and we rock it well too. Its a different style in the Bay, there is something in the air that makes us all feel a little different. Its made the Arts scene is incredible too. Rappers, rockers, and even hippies all grace their presence in the history of our incredible city.



The reason why most people are proud to be from Oakland, is what I like to call the underdog effect. It feels good when we see it happen and we all like a good story, so why not help support Oakland? A great friend of mine has been telling me the same quote for as long as ive known him, "Its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." And we always give this guy so much shit for saying the lamest cliche ever, but you know what. People like cliches, we like to see Rocky beat Apollo. We like to see Will Smith kill aliens, and we sure as shit like seeing the Giants win the World Series. And it doesnt matter to us, because in Oakland, seeing love is hard sometimes and the more you see it the better it feels.

P.s. Best dancers in the world too... I would know.

Summer in Sydney? More like Rain. With a Chance of Rain.

Man oh man... Back to Ivy again last night, and boy was it smackin. Not only was it our friend Laura's 21st but we also got to enjoy the pouring rain! Now you may think I'm referring to the rain as a total bummer.. but it DEFINITELY wasn't. While me and a few female acquaintances were tearin up the dance floor, it then proceeded to rain Monsoon style all over the entire dance floor. But after the initial shock of getting completely soaked, it turns out that dancing in the rain is pretty fuckin fun. Me, these girls, and the rest of the die hard cruisers were the epitome of "Murkin' a Dance Floor" and we stayed there till the wee hours of the night. What can I say about my favorite place in Sydney? I guess even in the worst conditions you can still be the king of the floor...

CHAMPange shower!

Damn its been a while... The fall classic is over, and our beloved San Francisco Giants are the current World Series Champions!! This comes as a bit of a surprise to some people, but when a city so adamantly supports a team I feel like its nothing short of destiny when a group of "Misfits" ends up winning the title. The Giants hadnt won a World Series since 1954, and they hadnt won a World Series in San Francisco ever. But the draught is over, finally, and the folks in the Bay can celebrate once again. Here on the Sydney front classes are coming to an end, I'm currently writing a final paper for one class, or at least trying to... People are going on trips, Keola and Sneaky are in Bali, Herzi just got back from Melbourne, and I will be leaving for Fiji in a month. Its such a shame to leave such a beautiful place so soon, and there are so many spots in australia that I still want to go to. Melbourne, Gold Coast, Great Ocean Road, and I haven't even touched the West side of Aus yet. Oh well, it just means i'll have to come back and journey some more! You feel me? But I do have an entire month to get into as many shenanigans as I can. Until then peace out, and much love to the Bay.

P.s. We need all the support we can get, so if youre in Oakland... GO TO THE RAIDERS GAME!! Lets beat those Queefs!