San Francisco is My Home

20
Nov

The other side of Thanksgiving

Author: kris, Category: Events, Landmarks

In 1969, thousands of Native Americans occupied Alcatraz to demand fair treatment for Native Americans from the government. Bigger than your average hippie sit-in, the 18-month long protest drew national attention to the plight of Native Americans for the first time in the 20th century, some experts say.

Though the occupation ended, the International Indian Treaty Council still returns to Alcatraz every year at sunrise on Thanksgiving, “to celebrate [their] resistance and give thanks for [their] survival.” The event features speakers and dancers from several different tribes.

Everyone is welcome to attend the celebration, though the last boat departs for the former prison at 6:00 a.m. (Boats start moving at 4:00 a.m.) Tickets are $12 per person, though kids 5 and under are free, and the event is wheelchair accessible.

This can be a good way to introduce your kids to the other side of the Thanksgiving story, as well as a small moment of zen for you before the crazy cooking and football and visits from your deaf great-aunt begin.

13
Nov

More on the oil spill

Author: kris, Category: Nature, News

One of the Chron website’s top headlines this morning reads “Cargo vessel may have strayed from its course before striking bridge and gashing its side, records show.”

May have strayed from its course?

I was worried it was too soon, but I guess if the Chronicle can be funny about the oil spill then I can too. And so I present to you five possible ways to make lemonade from the newly-oiled San Francisco Bay:

1. Declare it a swimmin’ hole for the Tin Man.

2.  Turn ferry building into refinery, Coit Tower into giant gas station. Rake in profits.

3. Use natural disaster as an excuse to admonish other political leaders in an attempt to appear helpful and concerned, fooling no one.

4.  Three words: dead bird soup!

5. Do nothing. Oil is the new water.

12
Nov

Oil spill in the Bay

Author: kris, Category: Nature, News

On Wednesday, an oil tanker ran into the Bay Bridge and sprang a leak, releasing an estimated 58,000 gallons of oil into the Bay. (The Coast Guard initially, bafflingly, estimated this as 140 gallons.)

This disaster reads like something Aaron Sorkin might write. The Mayor is out of town, so we’re under the control of an acting mayor. The city’s offer of personnel to help with cleanup was essentially ignored by the (apparently criminally incompetent) Coast Guard. Birds are dying off left and right, the oil is becoming thinner on the water and harder to scoop, and because of its hazardous nature the scores of volunteers showing up are not permitted to help. All we need is a screwball comedy premise involving Sam Seaborn and a call girl and we’ve got ourselves a fine episode of The West Wing.

Here’s an image of the oil spill, courtesy of Kurt Rogers from the SF Chronicle:

12
Nov

Da Vinci at the Metreon

Author: kris, Category: Museums

If you like art but not museums, you might check out the Da Vinci exhibit that’s currently showing at the Metreon downtown.

I myself do like museums, some of them, but I find the standing and the slow shuffle and the crowds can be mighty wearying, to say nothing of walking through rooms full of art you don’t understand before you reach some art that moves you. Ok, I am a Philistine.

Still, the Metreon is not really synonymous with culture or quality control. I actually refuse to see movies there because they show so many commercials beforehand, and while it was owned by Sony there were something like two boring floors devoted to Sony products — not in a cool way, you understand, but in a desultory, static, couple-of-cases-holding-robot-toys way.

This exhibit promises to be “interactive and experiential,” which probably means Da Vinci’s works will be “re-imagined” into short videos and hands-on stuff for the kids. Still, it might not be the worst way to introduce your child to fine art, especially if you can’t afford the plane fare to France.

25
Oct

Pelicans

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks, Nature

I love Ocean Beach, but when you want more private, contemplative beach experience it’s all about China Beach. Located next to the stately Seacliff mansions, the beach is a tiny patch of sand and rock facing the Golden Gate Bridge and foggy hills of Marin.

I had lunch at China Beach with my dad today, taking advantage of the recent heatwave to get some facetime with the ocean. Naturally, this meant that the heatwave cooled off today, but it was still totally acceptable weather for an SF beach: cool, breezy, with patches of sun and roaming fog banks. We sat in our deck chairs and ate deli sandwiches and watched the container ships gliding back and forth.
“I was so disappointed when I first got to the city and saw the Golden Gate bridge,” my dad said. “I thought it would be golden.” We both contemplated the reddish bridge for a while, munching our sandwiches.

“They could at least paint it more of an orangey-red,” I said finally. “Then again, that would be a pretty massive rebranding project.”

“Pelicans,” my dad agreed. And then we watched some pelicans for a while.

11
Oct

Irony at the Castro Theater

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks

I saw a 9:45 showing of Barton Fink at the Castro Theater last night. It was on a double bill with Mulholland Drive, but never again will I make the mistake of viewing that movie and then having to walk home in the darksome night. Barton Fink is disturbing enough.

The Castro is an elegant old movie palace just a few doors down Castro Street from Market. Most shows begin with the pipe organ rising out of the stage floor for a brief medley of songs, and you stare around at the gilded walls and murals and red velvet seats while the organist performs, or you watch the crazy foot machinations he has to undergo to make the pipes sound that way.

It’s a strange setting for a film like Barton Fink, which is about an intellectual snob who insists that he is on the verge of creating a “theater for the masses.” He gets a job working in the movies, much against his inclination, and goes through the entire film never realizing that the pictures are the new theater for the masses.

So you’re watching all this in a movie house that at one time was a perfectly ordinary setting for films of mass appeal, but now that it’s an independent theater its lineup is comprised of arty films, campy films, cult films — in short, everything except entertainment for the masses. After a while I wasn’t sure if I was surrounded by ten layers of irony or if everything balanced out to perfect sincerity.

Also, my friend thinks I’ve got the film’s message all wrong.

The point, if I have one, is that the Castro is a gorgeous palace of shows, and you should check it out if you have a chance.

28
Sep

Drive it again for the first time

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks, Museums

In a globally warming world, it’s getting harder to enthuse over the rounded, gleaming, gas-guzzling lines of classic cars. But the Academy of Art’s classic car museum has a cure for that. Students at the Academy study the gorgeous, classic designs, and apply what they’ve learned to new designs for eco-friendly autos.

Whether you’re green with environmental do-gooding, or just green with envy, the Classic Car Museum is worth a visit.

13
Sep

Where the lions sleep

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks

The most horrifying gathering of tourists and chain stores in San Francisco has to be in the Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf area. My dad still remembers when Fisherman’s Wharf had credibility, in the form of actual salty-dog sailors who would gather, eat, drink and occasionally fight, as sailors do. No longer. Now this is the place where you can mass with several million of your fellow visitors to purchase SF-themed schlock and mass-produced clam chowder in a bread bowl. In short, this is where you come to buy the stuff that proves you’ve been here to buy the stuff.

Guilty secret? Many of the locals also love it here. I hop a bus down to Fisherman’s Wharf two or three times a year. I like hanging over the railing and watching our huge colony of sea lions barking and flipping over one another out in the water. I like buying overpriced fudge from the store in Pier 39, and occasionally hitting the arcade. I even like the tourists, because most of them look happy to be here in this city I love, even if the area bears little resemblance to the rest of town.

And sometimes, yes, I am tempted to buy a t-shirt, or a shot glass that says “I heart SF.” But then I remember I can get such things for much cheaper at any Walgreen’s in my neighborhood, and I restrain myself.

11
Sep

Five things to do in a San Francisco summer

Author: kris, Category: Food, Landmarks, Nature, Seen, Shopping

San Francisco has its summery moments, but spends a lot of its time wrapped in a blanket of fog and overcast skies. True San Franciscans know better than to defer their summer pleasures just because the weather is sulking. Here are five great activities to enjoy on a freezing summer day:

1. Get a double ginger ice cream cone from the new Bi-Rite Creamery. Walk around Dolores Park with it, wiping your forehead and loudly saying “Whew, this cold ice cream really hits the spot on a day like today!”

2. Go clamber around on the rocks at Ocean Beach. PLEASE NOTE: When the rocks are wet it is possible to slip and fall and hit your head. Don’t do that.

3. Order a pitcher of beer at Zeitgeist’s outdoor patio. You might get a whole table to yourself. If you get bored, start a beer fight with any bikers sitting near you. If they object, tell them you thought they would appreciate being doused, considering the temperature.

4. Two words: pedal boats! You can rent these at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. If you pedal hard, you won’t shiver. As much.

5. Drive to the top of Twin Peaks and check out the famous view of the city. Be sure to take lots of pictures, no matter what the wind chill factor is.