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{ metropolis devoured }
a tribute to my san francisco


3/4 oz scotch whiskey
3/4 oz local politics
1/4 oz public policy
1/4 oz disaster preparedness
1/2 oz alamo square

Shake over neighborhood dives & venues, strain into a chilled cocktail dress, garnish with a sprig of gov 2.0, and serve.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Outside Lands: SF's own Coachella

I've been on the fence about buying the 3-day pass that's currently available for a new outdoor music festival set to take place in the park this summer because of the site's inticing half-promise: "Pending availability single day tickets may be released at a later date." Just tell me if they will be, or won't be! I clearly have committment issues and really can't justify an entire weekend of boozing and partying anymore.

I should do the smart thing and buy the 3-day ticket and resell it later, if the single day tickets become available, but even that's too much commitment for this girl.

So far the bands exciting me are: Radiohead, Jack Johnson (I know, I know!), Wilco, Cold War Kids, The Cool Kids, and The Coup, but if they got Kaiser Chiefs/Fratellis/Black Keys on the lineup I'd be much more motivated to commit.

Please stay tuned for a review of the CDP convention, which is going to take some time since I keep getting distracted with real work.

Friday, March 28, 2008

On my way to the CDP Convention...

Tonight I'm planning on reliving my college "glory days", by which I mean I'm going to drink and dance until 3am and then wake up at 7:30 for class. Except for the class part. Instead of dragging my sleepy self up an absurdly steep hill (now I get why I was in much better shape two years ago!) for lecture, I'll be fighting my cravings for some kind of a very unhealthy fast-food breakfast - because that's what driving down 280S/101S does to me - on my way down to San Jose for the CA Democratic Party Convention. Why so early? I have to be there by 10am, which in my case means that I need to aim for 9am, in order to make sure all my credentials for the voting process are in order.

I will be there as part of Team Carole, since you don't need to be a nice and gentle person to be an effective legislator in my book. Come on people, it's not like she's running for Prom Queen. So she's a little abrasive. Let it go.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Getting a little political in preparations for the CDC...

A note to those who need to be reminded: if you are in the news, any news, and lie about the circumstances of an event which was filmed, you will get caught, and rightly and embarassingly so. So please take a lesson from Senator Clinton's fumble and save us, the watchful general public, the secondhand embarassment.

Also this - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/opinion/25brooks.html - Great article that can be summarized as: Lady, when will ya quit?

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

Mac-Attack in Iraq

My big brother Mac (pictured here with a kitten, aww) has been sent back abroad, Semper Fi-ing all the way back to the Al Taqqadim Airstation, 70 miles west of Baghdad. He's a chopper mechanic and, from time to time, takes some awesome pictures when he isn't setting things on fire and/or surfing the 'net for porn (kidding, on both accounts!) Until he commits to getting a blog, I'm going to post some of them here.


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Monday, March 17, 2008

Sticks & stones can break my bones, but don’t call me a bad actress.

Just kidding. You can – and should. And I should sit here and take it. See, a few years ago I got involved with an indie horror movie project (Puppy!), where I displayed a wide array of previously unused skills (or lack thereof). I had no idea I wasn’t a very good actress since I’d never tried it before, although I probably should have figured that I would’ve already tapped into that talent if I had it. Anyway, I’m all about new experiences so off into the movie-making land I went. Now, this wasn’t a craigslist thing involving phrases like “gay for pay” or “cheesy motel decor”, so don’t go getting all excited. This was a legitimate situation of a complete stranger approaching me in a shop and asking me to audition at his house in the dark and woodsy lands of Marin county. Don’t worry, I brought a friend. There are also no nipple shots from yours truly, although if you are into that sort of thing, the rest of the actresses had professional adult film industry body doubles.

That said, my role was pretty major, my name rolled in the credits second after Alice Cooper’s daughter Calico, and I will take a good deal of responsibility for why the movie bombed. I felt pretty bad about ruining these nice people’s project, so I tried to be as cooperative as I could be during the chaos of voice-overs, post-production edits, and standing in the middle of the street on a cold March night covered in sticky fake blood, but apparently my good behavior on-set does not translate into the overall quality of the movie and let’s just say the critics did not go easy on my under-acting (I was originally really afraid of over-acting).

My first reaction: “Wow, someone actually watched this thing??”

Immediately followed by: “ :( I suck.”

Rightly so. At least I tried... even if I didn't exactly give it my best shot. Getting criticized on the internet is less than fun times, but even so, one must remember to take it in stride.

I should stick to my usual pen-and-paper medium of self-expression (click to enlarge):


Friday, March 14, 2008

Sugar Skull 1


(Click to enlarge). My first venture into illustration in a long time. I bought all these markers, paints, pens and illustration paper back before Christmas but never got around to using them until this week... I'm so bad with personal deadlines.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Candy Bar SF ???

On my way to the faraway land of non-metered parking in the Western Addition this morning, I passed a glowing new venue being refitted for - wait for it - yet another beer/wine only bar in the neighborhood (there are two more within a half a block), whose claim to fame is going to be sweet foods. It's a wine and dessert bar with a ridiculously Marina name to match: CandyBar SF. How quippy and adorably Chestnut Street. I'm all for new businesses filling up the empty store fronts in my neighborhood, but I'm really hoping this doesn't attract the Alembic kinda crowd that now overflows into my favorite little low-key Upper Haight bar, ruining it with massive amounts of pretense and douchebaggery.

(edit): In other gastronomically adventurous news, I can't believe I didn't catch this earlier when scanning the EaterSF site, but pricey yet tasty Bar Crudo is opening a brand new location way too close to home, my home that is.

Also coming soon: Minibar (a former barbershop space converted to probably another beer/wine only location) & live jazz cafe On the Corner (I saw the owners exiting after a walk-through this weekend and they say they're expecting to open in a week, but didn't mention the live jazz).

In other news, I've been busy winning Pig & Whistle trivia with my college buddies a eating up the crazy insightful awesomeness that is my favorite COIN blog, which everyone should put on their blog roll immediately. You can not read this stuff anywhere else, ladies and gentlemen. Okay, maybe you can, but the trio that writes for AM does it with so much finesse.

P.S. I ate 30 oysters today and it felt great. Props to human beings for being able to consume entire colonies of other organisms. 5 dozen fresh raw sweetwaters split between 3 hungry friends disappeared like there was a black hole at our table, followed shortly by Manila clams in a wheat beer broth and a grilled cheese sandwich that's still making my mouth water... in short, if you haven't been to Hog Island, you should go.

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Friday, March 07, 2008

Via AfghanLORD: Women in Afghanistan


A fantastic article on the current status of Afghan women and minors from one of my favorite Central Asian blogs. I have deep respect for the author for pursuing independent reporting in country where media is so strictly controlled by a fundamentally misleading government.