Fla Boy Kelly Slater Wins 11th World Title [surfing]

Fla boy Kelly Slater won his 11th World Title in San Francisco earlier this month. Despite being from Cocoa Beach, Florida, a town more known for its space shuttle launches than turning out world champion surfers, this central Florida beach town has produced one of surfing's finest.

Lefty's San Francisco

San Francisco is home to Lefty's, opened in 1979 and the very first store to cater to left-handers in the United States. They also have a large number of items available for sale online.

I'm disappointed I wasn't aware that this store existed when I lived there! I'll definitely check it out when I am back in SF.

A limited number of items are available at the Lefty's kiosk in the Downtown Disney Marketplace in Orlando, Florida.

After checking out the left-handed store at Pier 39, if you're in need of some “adult only” entertainment, head over to Lefty O'Doul's in Union Square for a drink and to watch the game.

Opened in 1958, Lefty's is named after baseball pro and native San Franciscan Francis "Lefty" O'Doul and is the city's longest-standing sports bar - and may be the longest-standing sports bar in the country.

Best Things to Do on Father's Day in SF [holidays, events]

There is a lot of (mostly) free stuff going on in the Bay Area for Father's Day this year, so there is no excuse not to take Dear Old Dad out!

1. The Northern California Pirate Festival is happening in Vallejo from 10:00am to 6:00pm and celebrates all things Pirate.via FunCheapSF:

Celebrate all things Pirate, as Pirate Entertainers, Musicians, Singers, Swordfighters, Craftspeople, and more turn Vallejo’s waterfront into a Pirate Town the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Tortuga. Come on out for this two-day festival over fathers day weekend and have a swashbucklin’ great time at the SF Bay Area’s only Pirate Festival.

The entertainment roster encompasses performers featured on the main stage, the children’s stage, main gate stage, swordfighting & pirate’s “brawling” areas, participating vessels and roving entertainment

2. The 57th Annual North Beach Festival will be held in San Francisco from 10:00am to 6:00pm in Washington Square Park.

3. The 61st Annual Juneteenth Festival is happening in San Francisco from 11:00am to 7:00pm in the Fillmore.

4. For all you dancers, there is a free Michael Jackson "Beat It" Dance Class in SF from 12:00pm to 2:00pm at Bollyhood Cafe.

5. If you are a parkour fan, be sure to check out the 1st Annual Urban Ninja Festival in Berkeley from 12:00pm to 6:00pm at Memorial Glade (UC Berkeley).

6. The Stern Grove Festival 2011 kicks off tomorrow in SF at 2:00pm with the sounds of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

7. The Father's Day Kite Day is happening in Berkeley from 12:00pm to 4:00pm at Cesar Chavez State Park.

8. For the urban history nerds (and cannon enthusiasts!) there is a hike of shipwrecks and and cannons starting at 2:00pm at the Presidio in San Francisco.

9. World Music Day will be held in Palo Alto from 3:00pm to 7:30pm.

Click here for even more free events!

1974 was a Golden Year for Film [film, 1970's]

Wow. 1974 sure was a golden year for film; it was also quite a year at the Academy Awards!

I’m currently watching The Conversation, which was filmed here in San Francisco and directed by one of my all-time favorite directors, Francis Ford Coppola. I have a slight obsession with movies filmed here in the Bay Area.

I also adore The Towering Inferno, which came out the same year and was also filmed in San Francisco. It was up against The Conversation for Best Picture (they both lost to another Coppola film, The Godfather III). It did end up taking home the award for Best Cinematography, and it truly is a visual treat.

My all-time favorite film, John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence” also came out that year, and Gena Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress but ended up losing to Ellen Burstyn for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

Moving Back to SF [life stuff]

I can't believe Meghan and I are moving back to the Bay area in 14 days! There is much packing to do.

We will be moving to the East Bay but hope to find a place in The City or perhaps Fairfax in the next few months.


I am going to become a master packer having to move around so much!

Bicycle Film Festival SF [events]

The 10th Annual Bicycle Film Festival is happening in San Francisco November 10-14.

SF: Fourth Annual Medical Cannabis Competition [events]

The Fourth Annual San Francisco Medical Cannabis Competition will take place at Terra Gallery on November 14th.

via SF Weekly:

Attractions & Giveaways include: Edibles, concentrates and strains for judges to vote on! Delicious catered food, award winning DJ's, volcano medication stations, & tons of medical marijuana products!

So bummed I'm moving and going to miss this!

Italian-Designed Space-Saving Furniture [design]

As someone who lives in an extremely small studio in San Francisco, I am always trying to think of creative ways in which to utilize my space, and this furniture definitely looks like something I could incorporate into my space.

Marijuana Economics: Prop 19 [SF events]

Tonight at the Commonwealth Club, 7:30pm.

via SF Weekly:

From where we sit, it looks like a done deal. Marijuana will be legalized sometime within the next ten years. Certainly, the industry as it stands is preparing itself for change. Uh, not that we would know anything about it. Tonight at "Marijuana Economics: Prop 19," the heavy hitters of the current bid for legalization sit down and discuss the actual facts of the matter. Richard Lee, the author of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, is in the "pro" seat. Tim Rosales, the campaign manager of the No on Prop 19 outfit, is in the "anti." And somehow, somehow, Beau Kilmer of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center is thought not to have a position, but rather a lot of information.

San Franciscans Will Protest Anything. [ridiculous]

San Francisco- A group claiming Gandi to be racist is planning to protest the Gandi statue that has sat behind the Ferry Building since 1988.

The group plans to ask that the Gandi statue be replaced with one of Martin Luther King, Jr. or B.R. Ambedkar.

The SF Symphony Does Hitchcock [psycho!].

The San Francisco Symphony is performing a live orchestral accompaniment to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) on July 17th.

via the SF Symphony & SF Weekly:

Treat yourself to a night at the movies-with a live symphony orchestra! Bernard Herrmann revolutionized the art of film music with his hair-raising soundtrack to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. On July 17 the San Francisco Symphony performs the score live alongside Hitchcock’s iconic film that changed the silver screen and shocked audiences 50 years ago. Don't miss this opportunity to experience a cinematic classic as you've never seen (or heard) it before!

Arrive one hour prior to the concert for music and dancing with the Martini Brothers, plus desserts and specialty drinks.

Concert includes intermission.

Recommended for ages 18 and older. Groups of ten or more save 20%. Side and Center Terrace seats are not available for this performance.

SF Eats: Bacon Moon Pie! [foodie]

More about the Bacon Moon Pie on Thrillist:

Ingredients:

I've used my favorite bacon from Bledsoe Pork in Woodland, CA (Davis Farmer's Market) to make traditional Scottish shortbread with stone ground rice flour, bacon fat, and bacon cracklin.

Between these two pieces of shortbread you'll find a marshmallow made with Vermont maple syrup and Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage Bourbon, surrounding a bacon fat and bacon cracklin caramel.

The whole thing is coated with a thick layer of my favorite blended chocolate, Michel Cluizel's 72% dark.

Per normal, the recipe is included.

Each order contains four pies at ~5.25oz each.

The 9" pie is ~5lbs (about 20 servings) and includes bacon ganache made with Michel Cluizel 72% dark chocolate and Bledsoe bacon.

In case you care about such things, these snacks/desserts are soy free.

Michel Cluizel 72% Dark Chocolate (cocoa butter, cocoa, cane sugar, bourbon vanilla), Bledsoe Pork Bacon, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Celles Sur Belle Butter, Glucose (Corn Syrup), Organic California 100% Jersey Milk, Filtered Water, Organic California Stone Ground Rice, Organic Vermont Maple Syrup (Grade B Dark), Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage Bourbon, Gelatin, Sea Salt

SF: SJ Crawfish

SJ Crawfish looks dirty Southern good, and since it is in the Sunset, I don't have any excuse not to try it.

SF: The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

I can't wait to try The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen that just opened up on South Park Ave here in San Francisco.



The Mousetrap and Feta Tomato look delicious. See the entire menu here.

The Nervous Breakdown [SF event]

If my schedule allows tomorrow, I am going to try to hit up this event at The Make Out Room.

The Nervous Breakdown

via SFWeekly.com:

Penny For Your Thoughts
By Hiya Swanhuyser

If you're a woman who has ever leaned toward punk, you've either worshipped her or secretly hoped someone like her existed: Penelope Houston is an international icon. Not just as the lead singer of the Avengers, the band famous for the song "The American in Me," either, although the pictures of her in the early days of punk are as punk as anything else -- young, intelligent, infuriated, leather-jacketed. But in the rather many ensuing years, she's done nothing but continue to be admirable, in the form of taking on a new musical genre that's really hard to define: Mod-folk, maybe, or heartfelt go-go New Wave film soundtrack, with autoharp. Tonight, she reads at The Nervous Breakdown series, along with Johnny Genocide aka Hugh Thomas Patterson, Stephen Elliott, Paul Clayton, Lauren Becker, and Thomas Wood.

Literary Events

Make-Out Room
3225 22nd St. (at Mission); San Francisco CA

William Ayers in San Francisco.

I'm disappointed I missed William Ayers last night at The Green Arcade in San Francisco.

I was first introduced to William Ayers via his involvement in the Weather Underground, a 1960's militant student political organization.

94-Yr-Old Woman Graduates from College [touching story]

This is a touching story. A 94-year-old Oakland woman, Hazel Soares, just received her BA in art history from Mill's College in Oakland.

She is believed to be the second oldest person in the world to graduate from college, second to Nola Ochs, a woman who graduated from Fort Hays State University in Kansas three years ago at the age of 95. You go, girl!

Hazel is a living example of the "it's never too late to realize your dreams" mindset.

'Famous Babies' Film Debuts this Month.

The film 'Famous Babies' premiers this month. The film follows three babies from San Francisco, Tokyo, Namibia and Mongolia.

My, How Things Change!

It is quite amazing how rapidly the social climate has changed in the past 50 years. Large breasts are highly valued in this culture; they are a great source of a woman's sex appeal, and much of women's clothing styles are designed to reveal this particular asset.

Flashback 50 years. In 1960, 24-year-old Sandy Cherniss, who boasting a bustline of 41 inches, was asked by school officials at the college she attended to "tone it down" in effect, so her bosoms would not provide such distraction to the male students.

There is no way this would ever happen in the modern world of 2010. Halter tops and other "club wear" type clothing are manufactured for and marketed to pre-teens just on the cusp of puberty, many whom haven't even developed breasts yet or started menstruating. Girls are shown that exposing their breasts and showing as much cleavage as (legally) possible not only helps in securing a boyfriend but oftentimes a job or promotion, too; many girls learn that it's often their body, not their brains that are their assets most valued by others.

One of the most fucked up things about this ad is that it places the blame on the female student, telling her to tone it down, as if she should be punished for her biology rather than expecting the oggling boys to behave like decent men and not gawk at her endowments while in the classroom. Rather than holding the male students to a certain standard of higher level academic decorum, they blame the female student.

After reading the text that accompanied the first photograph, I realized that this incident took place here in San Francisco, at City College. San Francisco is arguably the most politically progressive urban area in the United States and is seen as a counter cultural and queer mecca throughout the world, yet even here, just 50 years ago, things were vastly different.

Here is a clearer picture of the student, Sandy Cherniss.

Seeing San Francisco from a Skateboard

San Francisco was beautiful today; I thought I'd share my skateboard ride.