Um, what's a cough?
I came across this poster on the Bart the other day. Basically, it tells folks to not cough out in to the open air, which is sound enough, albeit on-the-nose advice. The thing that's really amusing/sad is the "The CDC* Recommends" bit.
The asterisk is notated below by stating that "CDC" stands for the "Center for Disease Control". I'm not exactly sure why they bothered as those who aren't going to know what the CDC is aren't probably going to be paying attention to this sign and will continue carrying pink plastic bags and coughing without covering their mouths. Those who do know what the CDC is already know this little nugget about coughing. I guess that in the end, they just had empty space to fill as no one is buying billboards these days and this looked better than a beige spot, begging to be marked up by one of those darned pesky whipper snappers.
08 08 2010 4 comments
Tags: public transportation, san francisco, us america
The gallery opening
I'm sure that centuries ago, a "gallery opening" was something much more akin to an artist unveiling some expensive work for their wealthy patron and his friends. Somehow there has been a devolution of this process to the point where the gallery opening is all about having a bunch of trendy people pop in, munch on some finger food from Costco and (if alcohol is provided) sip on something cheap from Trader Joe's.
Suffice to say, I hate the gallery opening. Naturally, this is drawn from the childhood trauma in having attended endless (easily more than a hundred) openings at the behest of my parents. As a kid, these suck given that you're just sitting around wondering why the hell anyone cares about this crap on this wall that you've seen your parents making for the last six months. Mainly you're just hoping that some other kid shows up, equally bored as you so that you can sit in the parking lot and try and trump each others' boredom stories or throw rocks at something.
I've realized that as an adult, gallery openings are actually far, far worse given that you often end up going to them of your own free will. I have to say that in general, the progression of art in the US is dead and it is so proven by the fact that most any piece in a modern gallery will require either a) a dissertation next to it explaining the artistic meaning or b) the actual artist next to it to explain the artistic meaning. This is not fun and it barely qualifies as art; more like guided tours.
And of course there is The Scene which I've actually never known a single person to be part of. I don't really know who these The Scene people are and despite knowing a ton of artists, none of them are in The Scene. I suspect that The Scene is some kind of roving band hipster miscreants that drift from opening to opening, meandering in the obscurity of it all, foraging on cheap wine and crackers, and procreating amongst themselves to raise a new, even more obscure generation of The Scene.
18 07 2010 0 comments
Tags: art, san francisco
You can say, 'Tribute to Spain' if you want
I came across this sign at the Nob Hill Grille on Hyde & Pine a day or two ago and really, with Paul the octopus predicting that Spain will win the World Cup tomorrow, there is nothing wrong with saying that you've planned a menu around Spain's holy animal. Nothing wrong with that at all... as long as you invite me to the piggy feast.
10 07 2010 5 comments
Tags: food, football, san francisco, spain
Timely desires
For the last several years I've realized that if I were to die tomorrow I'd really have no regrets as to what I did during my time on the planet. Obviously given that I'd like to do a great deal more, I wouldn't particularly enjoy waking up dead tomorrow, but even still, I'm generally pleased what what I've accomplished.
There are however what I shall call "desires" that, if I were given the chance, I would gladly take them up. By no means are they regrets because to a large degree, they're outlandish and seem to mostly revolve around time travel.
Absolute Polyglot
For some time I really wanted to just wake up one morning and be able to speak and write in any language in the world. In time however I've found that this would actually be a hollow thing to have as it would render the world absolutely flat. The character that exists in other languages would be gone if you knew them all in absolute terms. Also, as I've learned, the only way to truly learn a language is through immersion and within that process, you learn about the culture behind the language and why people say things they way they do. It must be said though that I'll never understand "of the mother whore" in Spanish other than to know that it means exactly the same as, "the shit". I'm sure Spaniards are equally stunned as to how "the shit" can be both good and bad, donc c'est la vie.
Meet my Great-Grandfather
My father's family is complete shit when it comes to family history. I've pieced together a decent amount of it, but my great-grandfather, Joseph was the missing link to all of it and he died a decade and a half before I was born. The chance to sit down with him and chat for a day over his favorite wine, Zinfandel (because it was the same red that he drank in Croatia without knowing it) would be one of the most priceless things I could ever think of being allowed.
Seeing my Neighborhood in the Later 19th Century
I live on the fringe of, or actually in The Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco depending on who you ask. This is a pretty wacky hood that I really have gotten to love in the nearly a decade that I've lived here. It wasn't always as it is today (many, many less tranny hookers in the past) and it was actually know as St. Anne's Valley a long, long time ago. To see it during that time would be ever so cool. As it is, I am stuck living vicariously through old images.
12 06 2010 8 comments
Tags: history, san francisco
A receipt of the past
I put on a coat for an interview the other day. Apparently, it's one that I hadn't worn for some time as when I reached in to the pocket, I found a receipt from December 17, 2004. For those who prefer to shy away from math, that's 5 1/2 years ago. Had it been from the grocery store, that would have been rather banal, but as it was, it was from Trader Vic's. For those who are more recent to San Francisco, this spot is no longer around. It was on the edge of the Loin and supposedly the place where the Mai Tai was invented, although that is up for debate.
The specific night that I was there is one that I only somewhat remember as it was after the Christmas party for San Francisco Magazine where I was the IT Manager at the time. The party was actually a lunch party at the Culinary Academy (also not there anymore) where I had a couple glasses of wine. Being an idiot with a second-rate girlfriend at the time who didn't drink (have upgraded since), I was completely ready to go along to get more drinks afterwards. This then involved a colleague proceeding to " break me" by talking me in to one drink after another to the point where I couldn't even talk at the bar when going up for the next round.
Amazingly, I was not bounced or cut off. Not amazingly, the bartender was happy to let me pay the bill and add in a 40% tip on drinks that had not been bought. Thankfully, the colleague who had "beat his liver in to submission years ago" saw this perversion of billage and went up to fix it which explains why I actually found two receipts in my pocket.
Being hungover for two days after that night and berated as to why drinking was so stupid by the second-rate girlfriend at the time, I wondered why I had left this receipt in my pocket. Was there something about the night that was a key to my future success? Was this a sign of things to come? Was there a coded message in this to my future 2010 self? Have I been watching too much Lost? Unfortunately, much like the series finale of Lost, this night out sucked and I am just surprised to see that this jacket not only still fit me, but also hadn't been worn in six years. Goodbye receipt. Thanks for reminding me of vomit, crappy, syrupy Mai Tais, and a quiet lad from Wales having to tell the cab driver at the bar where I lived.
29 05 2010 11 comments
Tags: restaurants, san francisco, stupidity
Sad to be leaving, but happy to go
I have to say that while being in San Francisco for a week and a half, I'm quite happy to be leaving. I went for a walk up to North Beach two days ago to buy salami and I thought, "Hey, I won't see this place for awhile, let's have a stroll." That was a rather tremendous mistake as shop upon shop is closed. It was just sad. This city is a husk of what it was and it goes to show how intangibly debt-driven the economy is here. Although, it did make me anxious to leave.
So, that's it. A total month and a half back in the US and now I'm off again. Why am I off again? Because economically, things are really still quite down. I knew that this would be the case though as January-March in any year are a hard time to find work. Of course, I had a sunnier disposition about things this time last year, which ended up burning me. But, given the fact that my rent wasn't increased for the first time in five years and a quick perusal of Craigslist shows that yes, things are not turning around, I am tossing in the towel and leaving the country.
Heading off to Europe again? No, not this time. As much as my in-laws would probably like to have me grilling meat and watching the puppy, I'm going a bit more adventurous this time; I'm heading to Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) for five months. Yes that is in Africa (West, not South) and yes, they do speak French there. And yes, it is quite hot there. So, why on earth am I doing this?
First off, I've wanted to actually live outside the US for an extended period of time. I've only really traveled outside for a maximum of maybe three months through a variety of countries. The closest I've come to living was staying in Figueres with my in-laws and that didn't really count as I wasn't paying rent, mom-in-law did the shopping, and I was there on the three moth tourist visa which I damn near went over on. Really need to use the other passport more...
So, this will be not only the longest time outside the US, but also the first actual living in another country. It just took until I was 33 to actually pull this off (I'm a late bloomer.) This is all being made possible by #1 Fan having a temporary contract there that was will take care of basic living expenses. Seeing how the economy was heading, she did something very smart last Fall and found this position which will not only allow us to hopefully weather this economic storm, but also work on that other project that I spend so much time on, Maneno. Also, I am hoping to come back speaking decent, as opposed to chicken-scratch, French by the end of this as well. Even though it's not my favorite language in the world (the multiple 'u' sounds and the numbers kill me) it is an incredibly useful one.
Most people who read this blog probably don't read Subsaharska that much as it's about Africa and African technology primarily. This one is a bit more fun, dealing with such things as food, tea, airport frustration, and of course, toilets. Speaking of which, there should be an article forthcoming about that last item. Otherwise, if you want to see some of the more cool things I'll be doing and the people I'll be working with, take a look at that blog.
If I didn't get a chance to meet up, I'll make sure to do so in July and will be happy to see a lot of folks again after so much time away, although I will be online just as much as here in the US and I have a SkypeIn number for those wishing to call as well. Au revoir!
27 01 2010 4 comments
Tags: california, in to africa, san francisco, us america
Man, that's a lot of NGO's. Vote for mine!
Well, as you can see below, San Francisco is not hurting when it comes to the number of registered NGO's (non-profits) in the city limits. I can't remember the specific figure, but it's somewhere in the multiple thousands. So to say that you're the director of an NGO in San Francisco is pretty much San Francisco-ese to say, "Hello."
Anyways, I've mentioned the one that I'm working for, Maneno, which naturally I think is a pretty cool organization to get more Africans actually being part of the discussion about Africa and to work on preserving African languages in the digital world. Both are not easy feats which is why the organization is always on the lookout for funding. If you are on Facebook and would be so kind as to help out, vote for Maneno in the Chase Community Giving competition. Thanks and and have a pleasant tomorrow.
09 12 2009 0 comments
Tags: aid, maneno, ngo, san francisco
Suck on that San Francisco
Time and again, San Francisco comes up as the go-to example of a public wi-fi failure. It's not a surprise as the Mayor is an incompetent ego-maniac and the City Council all want his job bu have forgotten that they need to theirs first. Essentially, there is never any consensus in city government and so little gets done except to stare in the gaping maw of a half a billion dollar deficit for 2010 because everyone keeps pushing their special interest programs. By the way, that deficit (we're not talking budget here) is more money than the annual GDP of 20 countries in the world.
Barcelona may have twice the population of San Francisco, but somehow they're able to run things a great deal better. The Metro flies along very nicely, the city is cleaner, and events thrive without shootings. It's also the case that Barcelona has deployed a public, city-wide WiFi network. Now, I haven't used it yet and will have to check it out on Tuesday when I'm there again, but the fact that a city which is not in the heart of all that is web, where internet is vastly more expensive is able to do this just goes to show what a dysfunctional heap San Francisco is these days.
Who knows, maybe San Francisco will get better soon, but in reality, I'm betting it will get a lot worse in the next six months or so. Honestly, it needs to and I'm planning accordingly...
27 11 2009 0 comments
Tags: barcelona, politics, san francisco, wifi
San Francisco in stun-o-vision
Naturally this came up on Laughing Squid in that this guy named Ben Wiggins decided to shoot stop motion video around San Francisco (and some other spots in California) with his super high resolution Canon 5D Mark II. The results are badass. Just watch the video below. My favorite bits are the fog banks rolling in and out as well as planes landing and taking off from SFO at night. Blow it up to full screen for extra special three minute evening at home.
19 09 2009 2 comments
Tags: photography, san francisco, video
The San Francisco Tourist Guide
I was quite intrigued by this article which talked about what are apparent commonalities that all guide books must share about New York City as all tourists stick to these guidelines. In looking around, I was astounded to see that apparently the same is true about San Francisco. Blinded by the obvious, I raced down to my local library and found that every major book does indeed cite this Publication T-NO as the definitive guide to visiting San Francisco. I found a copy sealed in a room only accessible once one is bedecked in a baseball cap, short pants, chewy pretzel, and a camcorder. Here is what I was able to glean from it before I was found out to be a local (shouldn't have worn the damned hoodie!) and quickly hustled away by security.
- San Francisco is often called "The City" by locals in the area. Unknown to many, "Frisco" is the actual preferred name. Call it that often. You'll find yourself blending in faster this way.
- There are four tourists attractions in San Francisco: The Bridge, The Crooked Street, Fisherman's Wharf, and the Cable Cars. Sometimes they are incorrectly called the "Golden Gate", "Lombard Street", "I never go there", and "Much slower than any other actual public transportation". In common conversation you may need to resort to this lower class vernacular in order to communicate with your taxi drivers where to go.
- Once you have seen these four attractions, San Francisco offers a wonderful array of Irish Pubs for the weary traveler to sit back and enjoy.
- Walking. Whoa, whoa, whoa! This isn't Los Angeles, is it? People really like walking here and it can be quite sickening to those not accustomed to it. Take a pedicab along the Embarcadero once you are done with the four main attractions and have had your fill of tipple at the Irish Pub.
- Make sure to take a taxi or airport shuttle for approximately $25-40 from the airport, especially if your hotel is at Powell and Market. The BART metro from the airport to Powell and Market is only for locals and you will be incarcerated immediately if seen attempting to use it!
- By advised that you are better off taking a taxi to the Golden Gate Bridge instead of the 28 bus. You could very well encounter what every tourist hates on that bus: other tourists.
- Stay out of the Tenderloin at all costs. You could quite easily be killed! There are no delicious Vietnamese, Thai, or Indian restaurants there at all!
- Make sure to take a picture standing next to one of the heart sculptures on Union Square. No one has done this before, so you need to make sure to focus your camera for 5-10 minutes to get the shot just right. Repeat as many times as necessary and stand as far in the middle of the sidewalk as possible to get your perfect shot. The locals will understand.
- If by chance you find yourself on public transportation (this is highly unadvised), when taking the escalator, make sure to block the entire steps. The locals always step right, just in case tourists need to get past. They're really nice people that way.
- Despite the size of Chinatown, there is only place to eat Chinese food, which is House of Nanking. This establishment knows how to cater to the tourist well, ordering their most expensive dishes for you and charging accordingly.
- Likewise, there is only one place to eat Italian food in all of North Beach which is the Stinking Rose. The name is so incredibly clever. Hilarious even. Genius. The name to end all names. Something to comment on forever and ever.
- Taxi drivers are incredibly helpful in San Francisco. No matter how short the distance, they will always take tourists the longest way possible to give them the chance to show off their magnificent city.
- Do. Not. Buy. A. Transit. Pass. The convenience of being able to not hold up a bus or train while you board, nor have to remember to take any money for the fare, nor having to remember to get a transfer is far overshadowed by the fact that if you will actually have to use the pass to get your money out of it and why do that when there are so many friendly taxi drivers.
- Make sure to tip at least 25% in restaurants and 50% in bars. While this may seem steep, it challenges the locals to tip higher and they're the type of people who thrive on challenge. Plus, it balances out the meager 10-15% that they leave, thus providing servers with the comfortable existence they deserve for writing down an order and then walking back with it.
- Pick any hill in the downtown. Walk one block of it. Stop. Then ask "How in the heck do all these people do this all the time?" An option is to have your travel companion take a photo of you on the hill, but be advised that San Francisco hills are magical and appear flat in photos.
- Rent a car if for no other reason than to drive down the Crooked Street while filming it on your camcorder.
- Take the Cable Car, stand at the front and use your camcorder to film all 3.4km of the trip. Each moment will grow ever more precious upon consecutive viewings at home.
- Skip Alcatraz Island. It's just a prison and let's be honest, we saw all the best parts in "The Rock", especially the underground mine which the authorities don't let you see anyways.
- Wear shorts. All the time. San Francisco has a reputation for being cold, but it is surprisingly warm year round. Short pants are an excellent choice of attire for your outings. If for some reason the weather unpredictably changes in the afternoon, there are always helpful merchants waiting to clothe your in the latest Alcatraz fashions for your enjoyment.
- View the gays in the Castro with special care, preferably from the safe confines of a moving vehicle. Actually setting foot in the Castro could very well give you, "the gay" and force you to live your life in as "fabulous" a manner as possible, which could very well kill you.
- There are approximately 30 museums in San Francisco. Likewise, there are approximately 50 Irish Pubs. Obviously, you should visit all the Irish pubs and not the museums because if locals thought the museums were better they would have built more of them and less of the Pubs.
18 09 2009 1 comment
Tags: san francisco, tourists
