December 2005
All entries and daily links from December 2005.
Worn
Saturday, December 31, 2005 at 8:12am
Another storm passed through the Bay Area last night. The rain poured through the night and there's a break now before a second, stronger, storm begins the deluge again.
Back in Frebuary, durning another break in a storm, I took a trip with friends to the Sports Basement in Mission Bay. Still mostly ball park parking and vacant lots, all kinds of things turn up like this retro Coke vending machine.
A First for Everything
Thursday, December 29, 2005 at 5:12pm -25 comments
Yesterday morning, riding Muni Metro to the office I was surprised to hear the recorded voice announce "Next stop. Montgomery Station."
Fumbling with my iPod to find a song I'd missed my stop. The first time I'd ever done so in my life.
Places That Don't Exist
Sunday, December 25, 2005 at 10:12am 11 comments
I went looking for 28 Barbary lane and found it, in a way. The San Francisco alley was made up by Armistead Maupin for his Tales of the City series, but for the television adaptation, this real stairway was chosen for the entrance to Mrs. Madrigal's famous house.
Top of the Charts
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at 7:12pm 3 comments
The other day while I was in the bank, Xanadu (yes, from the Olivia Newton-John film) began playing in the background. I was so surprised I had to point it out to the girl helping me out, "I love the music, it's all over the place." As if to prove her point the next song was Paula Abdul, though it was Xanadu that has been rolling around my head for the last few days.
This morning, when I saw Chris had posted his top 10 songs of the year, I saw it as an option to go through what I'd been listening to and drive Olivia Newton-John out.
It was easy enough to coax out of iTunes my most listened to songs, I'm going to keep it to my top 5 though:
Arcade Fire - "Cold Wind"
Composed for Six Feet Under's next to last episode, this song still haunted me well after the credits ended a few hours later I bought it off iTunes.Sigur Rós - "Glósóli"
Not knowing a lick of Icelandic, the music and the voice and the emotional quality they carry have brought me to tears more than once on a crowded Muni train. If you haven't yet, watch the video.José González - "Heartbeats"
I don't know that I will ever hear this without the images from the television commercial (thanks to Jackson) I first heard it in. Watch the ad, filmed here in San Francisco, if you don't yet know if that is good or bad.Bright Eyes - "First Day Of My Life"
I stopped here the first time I listened to the album and listened to this song over and over for about 10 minutes. The morning after I saw the video I spent the entire Muni ride to work listening to it over and over once again. I someday want to feel like this about a boy!Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - "Details of the War" There's just something about this entire album that feels right... "And I'm a wounded bird/I will take your word"
I only have a total of 72 songs from this year in my music library, much of the rest of the top 20 are more tracks from some of these albums.
The Lights Have Been Switched Off
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 at 10:12am 2 comments
(Photo by Kevin McCormick, used without permission)
Tensor is one of my favorite art installations in Black Rock City. A ten foot wide, eight foot tall wall full of 64,800 LED lights choreographed into swirling patterns and colors, I could never ride by at night on the Esplanade without stopping to watch it for a while.
A friend instant messaged me yesterday morning to let me know the artist Kevin McCormick who created Tensor, had died.
The 29-year-old, who was openly gay, had died of a heart attack during sex. Two of the men who shared the warehouse space told police he had taken ecstasy - his drug of choice, according to several friends - a few hours earlier.
As I read the story, elements of his life reminded me of myself and in a way I even found my self a bit envious... or maybe a better term is admiring, that he pushed his limits and boundaries in a way I've never dared. It would be easier to simply think to myself at least I will live to see 30, but longevity is hardly a measure of ones life.
I once spent half an hour watching both Tensor and the way the light danced across the faces of everyone else gathered to watch it. If short, his life was well spent inspiring others.
Stop Saying 'Bareback Mountain'!
Saturday, December 10, 2005 at 11:12am
To the dozen or so people I've heard say "Bareback Mountain" instead of "Brokeback Mountain", you are not clever, funny or creative. It's just too obvious a joke.
Last night walking home the liquor license notice was on the window of the now gutted space that used to be the Detour for a new bar to be named the Bare Bone Bar. I think we all know what this ones going to be called.
Can someone, please, come up with a different joke for Brokeback Mountain? There has got to be a joke you can make out turning mountain into "mounting"? I'll buy a free cup of coffee to the best one*
(*offer only valid in San Francisco)
Your Fearless Leader
Friday, December 9, 2005 at 5:12pm 0 comments
I have a lot of vacation time saved up and not many vacation opportunities, so I took today off of work so I could lead an AIDS/LifeCycle training ride and complete my leader certification.
Julie Brown leads a Tiberon Loop ride and this was the first chance I had to join in. The ride had four leaders (including me) and three riders (including my friend, training buddy and fellow ride leader Gary).
So now it's just some paperwork and I'm an official training ride leader. You've been warned.
The End of Uniform iTunes Pricing
Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at 8:12am 0 comments
Apple has added quite a few television shows to iTunes including not just current shows from NBC like Monk and Surface, but vintage television shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Knight Rider. A few of the new additions have also done away with the uniform $1.99/video pricing model. Full episodes (a pair of one hour specials) of Late Night with Conan O'Brian run for $9.99 with a handful of segments (not entire episodes) priced at $1.99. Meanwhile the Battlestar Galactica miniseries (originally aired as pair of 2 hour movies) has been broken up into four episodes (ranging from 31-57 minutes), but only available as a set running $15.99, more than twice what it would cost to buy four episodes of the series. I'm disappointed uniform pricing is coming to an end and these odd variations are beggining to turn up. There was a wonderful simplicity to any song for $0.99, but as iTunes moves further from its jukebox roots to add more media types this will probably continue.
Transitory
Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 12:12am
Tonight, walking back towards Market Street from a friend's going away party in Hayes Valley, I decided on a slight detour that skips a slightly questionable block in favor of a walk through the Hayes Green and up Octavia Boulevard.
Something just felt wrong as I rounded the corner and saw it, or rather didn't see it. The Hayes Green Temple had been removed. Not a surprise since it was only meant to be up until August, but has been so well received and such an immediate part of the neighborhood that the community and merchants lobbied to keep it longer.
There was more than just the temple missing though, the green was empty of people as well. The green has always had at least a few people passing through or just taking a walk around it for some fresh air or a cigarette before going back into Marlena's (a local bar at located at the one end of the green) but tonight there was just a half dozen people across the street clustered around the door to Marlena's, and just me walking along across the green.
A friend told me a while back the neighborhood was working with the city to ensure when the temple was removed it would be replaced with something else because they didn't want to loose the neighorhood square they've only just gained.
