Pride Weekend Part 2: June 27th

 June 27th  

Early Sunday morning we took the bus downtown to get spots for the Pride Parade on Market Street. I have seen the parade in New York but had heard this this one was by far the best. I was surprised at how few people where gathered for the parade after attending many parades in New York and Philly. There were a bunch of people but we showed up about five minutes before it started and found a spot right up in the front. I was hoping that we woudl meet up with Kristen but she got stuck on the other side of the street. The parade was fun but so slow and after a few hours of standing in the hot sun (yes it was very hot), Ilya and I went for some Mexican food and to check out the booths at the Civic Center for the rest of Pride. Lots of boobs, penis, and glittery costumes!

Pride Weekend Part 1: June 26th

 June 26th

The morning began with a Burn workout (we are going three times a week) and a trip to a few garage sales. Later in the afternoon we decided to check out a new art market that I had read about on Fecal Face (terrible name but good website). Market SF (Blue Macaw, 2565 Mission) turned out to be really great with adorable knitted toys, great t-shirts, and some cute art. It was closing when we arrived so we didn't hang out to long and decided to wander around the Mission a bit more. On our way along Valencia, we happened upon the Clarion Alley Mural Project. I will do a whole post about murals soon, but this place was wonderful even though it reeked of urine. As we were heading home we noticed that the streets had been closed off by the police and everyone had gathered on a nearby corner; of course I wanted to go over to investigate. The Dyke March was just starting and Lots of fun. Boobs and more boobs with people hanging out of windows to see all of the excitement. A friend of mine from the de Young was walking in the parade and we were swept into it as well. It was a very fun way to start pride weekend.

Hot Dog Delights

The hot dog condiment tray was used twice already and it was just as delicious as it looked. It was so much fun and it definitely made the hot dogs so much tastier. We filled up each compartment with a different condiment: one with ketchup, one with cheese slices, and one with hot peppers. Two beef dogs and two veggie dogs with cold glasses of diet coke made such a delicious dinner the first night that we ate them again the following evening. YUM!!!

Cultural Encounters Once Again

June 25th

Tonight was the closing reception for June's artists-in-residence, Kim Shuck and Michael Horse. As part of the evening pickPocket Ensemble played their Klezmer inspired music and the group Cyotess Tails & Real Faces performed some of the worst theater/storytelling ever. I used to like Coyote stories and the trickster tales involved with the acting in this performance was so terrible. One was about lying down in his own shit. Another one was about a coyote that wanted to have sex with three coyotes who rejected him. In the performance he jumped onto all three of them shouting, "Here is my enormous erection. Let's all three have intercourse. I will force myself on you three if you do not allow it." In the story the three women beat him to a bloody pulp. There were little children in attendance and it was just terrible and should not have been shown. An entertaining evening for me because I took photos all evening and could enjoy the music and poetry reading.

Monday Movies and Awesome Discovery

 June 21st

We woke up very early (6:00am) to bring my mom to the airport (I now have a car!!!) and decided to go to an early morning movie at the Metreon downtown.The buses got a bit confusing and we had to walk through the Tenderloin, which is the worst area in San Francisco. On our very early morning walk through we did see 2 drug deals that were so obvious amidst the horrible smells and sleeping bums. I don't know anything abotu these sorts of things but somehow it seems like drug deals shouldn't begin that early. I think the police just ignore the Tenderloin because they think it is beyond hope.

We made it to a 9:45am showing of Splice and then a 11:35am showing of Iron Man 2. I love going to the early movies for a few reasons: the price is only $6, the theaters are pretty empty, and I can arrive last minute and get a great seat. Splice was actually pretty good, totally messed up but I liked it. There were many moments where I thought, "No way are they going to do this because it is too messed up," but they did. Iron Man 2 was an absolute joke. I am glad that no money was spent on this because it was really terrible. The plot, the dialog, and the characters were all awful. I really liked the first one but I almost fell asleep several times during this one. DO NOT SEE IT!

I have never really been inside this theater complex but I had always heard that is was really great. As we were trying to exit a few fun looking grab machines appeared. Suddenly we were lost in a room filled with so many grab machines that I was totally in shock. Watch what video I got (before I was yelled at) here. Turns out this place is Tilt Arcade (101 4th Street) and it made me understand why people like arcade (Dave and Busters in not included). The games were totally fun and not overpriced. Ilya and I played a few games of skee ball and I used my tickets to get a sheet of pink poodle stickers and a teeny tiny pair of flip-flops. On our way out, Ilya found a $5 bill on the floor so games were free. I can not wait to go back. 

Books/Audio Books (only way to "read" on the bus)

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon STOPPED READING (not interesting); Point Omega by Don DeLillo Audio Book FINISHED; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Audio Book LISTENING

Yoga at the Great Lawn - June 22, 2010

The idea was awesome -- 10,000 people doing yoga (and setting a world record) in a free class on Central Park's Great Lawn, with all participants getting a free yoga mat and other goodies -- but alas, it was not to be!

After waiting in line for an hour and a half, we reached the Great Lawn just as class was starting, and also, unfortunately, just as the rain was starting. We weren't allowed to enter the field and the group that had begun yoga-ing (I got a few glimpses of thousands of bodies in coordinated motion -- amazing!) quickly dissolved as rain soaked the grass and mats and lightning threatened to strike and crisp the vulnerable yoga-ers. (See photo above: people fleeing the Great Lawn, en masse.)

Though it was disappointing to not have been able to participate, we did get our free ChicoBag, delicious brownie from a local bakery, bottled water, and yoga mat! There was a great rush on the boxes of extra stuff, and we got slightly squished as the masses pressed against us to get their rewards, but now I'm all matted and ready for a yoga class -- I wonder if this event will be rescheduled?

An SF Weekend of Fun: June 18-20

Friday June 18th

This Friday (as will happen every Friday this summer), I worked the de Young Museum's Cultural Encounters event. This week it was Friday Soirées with the Alliance Française to celebrate Fête de la Musique with live music by Eric John Kaiser on his “Pardon My French Tour 2010” and a strolling accordion player.

I spent my evening checking in the musicians and then working in the Artist in Residence Studio with Michael Horse and Kim Shuck. It was a lot of fun and I did a video interview with Michael about his background in acting and the meaning behind his ledger prints.

Saturday June 20th

We got a very early start on the day with an 8:00am rummage sale at a church in the Mission and got some awesome things. The best item by far was the talking hot dog condiment holder. Emily-I need you in San Francisco to have a hot dog and caprisun party with me. I began thinking of who would be interested in a party like this: Emily, Maggie, Liv, Sachi, Winn..not helpful for this coast right now.

After reviewing all of our awesome items at home (Ilya also got a Buffy the Vampire Slayer action doll), we headed over to Russian Hill to a brunch that my brother, Noah, was having at his place. So much yummy food and mimosas but I pretty much hung out with Kristen, Noah's girlfriend, since I didn't know many people and there was a lot of World Cup watching. I think sports are fun live, but I often lose interest when they are on tv. 

When I got too bored of the game we decided to check out the North Beach festival for a bit. It was pretty fun to walk around but it seemed like the main entertainment was the beer drinking (not really my thing). The evening was spent eating Thai food and watching Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. I really liked this book but the movie went totally wacky after about 20 min.

Sunday June 21st

Ilya and I have started taking classes at a place called Burn SF (1043 Valencia St) that is a pretty intense workout. I was still sore from our class on Tuesday but I tried to power through and it helped that they make sure to have lots of Jelly Belly beans around. 

When it was finished we wandered around the Mission for Sunday Streets. I know that this happens in New York, but this was really so much better. A large portion of the Mission is closed off to traffic, there are yard sales everywhere, music and food is all over the place, and there are cool art bikes. Once man had a piano on his bike, others had bubbles, and a few more just blasted dancing music as they road around.  There was an excellent Brazilian group that performed with knives (video here) as well as some drummers and several guitar players.

SF Muni Buses: A Complaint

I feel very safe in New York (except a few parts of deep Brooklyn and the Bronx) but surprisingly, San Francisco at night freaks me out a bit. I also don't mind taking subway rides in New York to see friends (Emily-I don't mind the 1 hour during the day and 2.5 hours late night ride to your place) regardless of how long or how late because I usually feel totally safe and can read the whole time. Most of my reading is accomplished and enjoyed while riding the MTA. 

SF Muni is totally different. The buses are dirty, extremely bumpy (preventing reading and causing motion sickness), it takes a long time to get places, and so there are so many unpleasant people. The back half of buses is totally reserved for smelly homeless men, thuggy women blasting music, and people selling tattoo needles to strangers (no joke). I have traveled to many different cities and this one seems so large and not very safe after dark.

I now have a car to use for late night trips, mostly Friday nights when I finish work at the de Young at 9:30pm. I guess this is part of learning a city, but I never felt like this in New York. Hopefully, once I learn my way around the city better, the buses will seem easier and safer.

Mermaid Parade! - June 19, 2010

I went to Coney Island's Mermaid Parade for the first time! Bad luck and bad weather conspired in years past to keep me from this excellent event, but Saturday's parade was everything I'd imagined it'd be. Although my beloved Coney Island was JAMPACKED with crowds, I saw lots of marvelous costumes, floats, and pasties! The BP oil leak / spill was a popular theme for this year's mermaids, with many lovely mermaids and mermen smeared in black goo and protesting the damage BP's done to marine life.

Also seen: zombie mermaids, alien mermaids, baby mermaids, mermaids on stilts, totally topless / bare-boobed mermaids, a sharkbike, a man with a parrot on his head pushing a miniature poodle in a stroller, Lou Reed as King Neptune and Laurie Anderson as Queen Mermaid, Darth Vader HelloKitty-style, a merman in a sparkly bikini top with a movable and biting shark head as the crotch part of his speedo, an elephant, a male spectator wearing only a thong to better display his butt tattoos, etc etc etc etc.
The Mermaid Parade is just another reason why Coney Island is one of my very favorite places on earth. A new addition to my Things To Do List: walk in the Mermaid Parade!






(Sharkcrotch merman photo credit: Liv Anna Homstead)

Bat-Manga and Happy Hour #1

June 17th, 2010

I never spent much time going to happy hours in NYC because one drink is more than enough for me, I get sleepy, and bars are kind of boring; SF Happy Hour is another thing. Our landlords printed out a list of the top 30 Happy Hours in the city and we decided to check one out before a Chip Kidd lecture at the Cartoon Art Museum. Yummy!! We went to a Mexican restaurant downtown named Maya (303 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107) and such delicious varieties of tacos with red snapper, avocado, poblano peppers, and other yummy things. Plus it was served with a huge tower of fresh chips, salsa, and hot beans. Soooo good. I must get my fill of Mexican food before the summer is over.

The lecture, part of the Batman: Yesterday and Tomorrow exhibition, was really interesting as Chip Kidd, author of Bat-Manga! presented a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his book and recently discovered original art by Jiro Kuwata from his Batman manga work of over 40 years ago. Part of his presentation included a dramatic reading of some of the Bat-Manga that he translated into English. I put a video up on my Facebook page, but here is the link as well. He showed a ton of super fun toys that I would love to have including Japanese POGs and a tiny baby mask with no eye, nose, or mouth holes. I LOVE toys!

Books

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson FINISHED; Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon READING

A Housewarming Potluck

June 16th
Wednesday, we had a housewarming potluck party at our place. There was so much food that our fridge is still pretty full of leftovers, but everything was so yummy: ginger snaps, chocolate-coconut-walnut-oatmeal cookies, lemon bars, brownies, veggie lasagna, pesto pasta, wild rice with cranberries, Ethiopian lentils, three different types of salad, and bread and cheese. Out apartment is really perfect for small gatherings but it is annoying that is gets so cold and no one can really hang out on the deck after the sun goes down. The party was great and I was able to hang out with a bunch of Ilya's SF friends that I had only met briefly last year.

Super duper creepy monkey statue

San Francisco I Have Arrived!

 

After an early morning flight we arrived in SF, last week ( I promise to make it up to you and write lots more throughout the summer). Our apartment is beautiful and the view is great but the artwork and furniture is so absurd.We have a creepy wooden monkey statue next to a Native American drum that has been turned into a table. Large gold lamps are everywhere and the art work looks like a drunk Matisse cut out figures and them vomited them up into shadow boxes. The prize piece is an enormous print from a 1996 exhibition of Picasso right over the kitchen table. It really is pretty wonderful, although the weather is going to take a bit of getting used to.

June 11th, Friday, was my first Cultural Encounters evening working at the de Young Museum and I was in charge of the "hands-on art making," which means that I made flower leis with tons of tiny children. It was actually lots of fun: I made lots of flowers, masks, and learned about the World Cup for an 8 year old boy. Apparently it was King Kamehameha Day, which celebrates the great warrior and monarch who established the kingdom of Hawai'i in 1810, uniting all the Hawaiian islands. 

Ilya and I spent the weekend with my brother and his girlfriend in Forestville with my parents. My mom made such an excellent bbq and I stuffed myself with shrimp, 2 types of steak, tofu, chicken, ribs, and corn. Delicious! The afternoon was spent swimming in the dirty Russian River with the fishes and dogs.

Dear Naomi,

Please declare yourself Empress of these United States in the great tradition of awesome San Francisco resident Emperor Norton!

Lots of Norton...

-Emily

National Museum of the American Indian - June 12, 2010

I went to the National Museum of the American Indian (One Bowling Green
New York, NY 10004 -- admission is FREE) with some friends; the exhibit on the horse was super-interesting, with lots of awesome things to see and learn about (intricately beaded / quilled / feathered horse masks and saddles, the horse as a "big dog", one man stealing 50 horses from Nazi SS officers).


The HIDE: Skin as Material and Metaphor exhibit was fascinating and beautiful: I especially liked the artist who used walrus stomach, hides of polar bear / elk / marten /seal, porcupine quills, and human hair in her work.

Then we took a walk around Battery Park.