why i love san francisco

and queer youth.

i was waiting for the BART train after class tonight, Halloween night. there were some cows, some ninjas, the usual suspects. along came four queer youth of color somewhere between 16-19 i'd say. three boys and a girl. two of the boys were dressed in drag, one sorta hoochie style, and the other a bit more refined. the latter had obviously played this part before. he looked beautiful, as only a woman, or a boy in drag can. the third boy was wearing frilly pink panties, sneakers and a boxing robe, open of course, to show off the pink panties. thin boy, big eyes. the girl was their safari guide, in tight khaki short shorts, khaki top, safari hat, brown knee-high socks and tan shoes.

the four were vamping it up and realized it was time for pictures. so the girl looks around at the crowd for potential picture takers and decides, for some reason, to ask this old white man sitting next to his wife, quietly reading his mystery novel. glasses, trenchcoat, old man cap. he agrees, and the four kids take up posing. but first the digital camera must be explained to the man. posing. then they pass him another camera. more posing. safari girl looking down boy in hoochie drag's top, hands up, looking shocked at what she sees. the other two boys on either side posing marilyn monroe-vegas showgirl-demure-batting eyelash-stripper style. then they pass the man a third camera, a disposable. by the end of this photoshoot, the man is a photographer. when they're done, the kids thank the man sincerely, and the man sits back down and takes up where he left off in his mystery. doesn't even give his wife a knowing look or roll of the eye.

during this whole scene, the rest of the crowd occasionally looks over, some a bit more interested than others. i stand there and stare, grinning from ear to ear.


unrelated to the above, my favorite flickr costume

jonathan safran foer + friday flickr faves

just finished everything is illuminated by jonathan safran foer. this kid (and i say kid because he is younger than me, born in 77 {and he's already written two fantastic novels!}) is a terrific and imaginative and funny writer. wise way beyond his years. or maybe possessed. he's one of those writers whose characters are so alive that you think maybe the author was channeling spirits or something. anyhow, this book left me with a lot of questions, and yet still it had a satisfying (if terribly sad) ending. so much to think about and feel about. questions about love, friendship, memory, sadness/happiness, storytelling/truth.

i think it is an important book to read for a number of reasons, but especially now for americans, living in a country that is at war. a country that seems to me to be creating more war.

one passage i like:
She had been to Kiev, he learned, and Odessa, and even Warsaw. She had lived among the Wisps of Ardisht for a year when her mother became deathly ill. She told him of ship voyages she had taken to places he had never heard of, and stories he knew were all untrue, were bad not-truths, even, but he nodded and tried to convince himself to be convinced, tried to believe her, because he knew that the origin of a story is always an absence, and he wanted her to live among presences.

it is also a book that one can read over and over again and make new discoveries, connections. most highly recommended!!!!

flickr favorites:
speaking of books, i've read all these
jumptwothree
romantic

have a good weekend!

thank you kim carney!

recently i sent kim a couple tea cozies since she has so many teapots. and because i find her blog so inspiring.

i wasn't expecting anything in return, but yesterday i received this package in the mail. it was xmas at my house! as soon as i opened the package, the dried hydrangea scent (or was it the candles?)filled the house. each piece was wrapped with so much care. i am a pretty poor, impatient wrapper, so i'm always impressed with people who wrap so thoughtfully. and the gifts! yummy soap, fun journal, lovely vase and beautiful kim ring and kim cards of her fantastic flower photos!

documentation of a russian red cabbage soup

1. gathering ingredients.


2. chopping, chopping, chopping.


3. sauteing 2 small onions (pink from being chopped LAST {so as not to cry throughout chopping}, after beets).


4. 1 red cabbage and 3 kinds of beets thrown in with 4-5 cups stock, a can of whole tomatos and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.


5. simmering beets make a pretty color.


6. wait {though preferably NOT on the table like mr. pinky leon is doing here} while soup simmers for 30 minutes. (you only get away with sitting on the table when you look like this.)


7. add one large potato, a turnip (i think the turnip may be unneccesary) and a carrot, simmer 15 more minutes. add salt and pepper to taste.


8. done! with sour cream on top.


9. sour cream mixed in. YUM.

this soup is very flavorful! i recommend it. it makes a lot, so you may want to cut down on the amouts a bit.

du fastnar perfekt i min polaroid

can any swedes name that tune?

1. armani
2. self in studio for mav's studio portraits
3. house down the street

i am thoroughly enjoying polaroiding. thanks again lisa s!

polaroids are so much about restraint and what the hell. restraint since each picture costs so much and there's no deleting. and what the hell for when one just has to go for it!

i love that the pictures are almost square too. i miss the days of square slides. i couldn't even find a photo store that could develop a square photo from a slide when i was looking for this about a year or two ago. at least ikea carries various square frames. otherwise, there aren't many square frames out there either. i don't know why we're such square haters in the U.S.

anyhow, i'm off to enjoy the autumn sun.

mike brodie portraits

neighbors' houses/backyards

photographer lou o'bedlam took some polaroids of photographer mike brodie (lou gives a description of mike's work too). i had never heard of mike brodie, but his portraits are astounding. beautiful and painful. his photos are in this index under his name.
a few of my favorites:
two of corey vinegar
two of monica & mama
jessie in her shack
stinker

friday flickr favorites

found this tiny skirt at a thrift store. i can never wear it, but i LOVE the fabric! i think i'll make a bag out of it so i can carry it with me everywhere.

this week i was so excited to stumble upon emma_wears_an_anorak's photos. this one is my favorite. look at her hands. oh. and these feet. this one makes me feel a bit sad.

also loving true nature's whole viewfinder series. look at this apple.

and JoanLovesPaper's clever photos with drawings on them: don't forget...

fired up

a few of my "keeper" cozies.

first off, thanks for your supportive comments about my cards and my job search. it is so heartening to read your comments.

and now for a rant.

have any of you watched the bill moyer pbs program on net neutrality? it was on the local pbs station last night. wow. it's crazy. the phone and cable companies in the US are lobbying the government (with millions and millions of {our}dollars) to basically control the internet. they would charge certain supposedly "big" users (yahoo, google, etc.) more for internet space. if the content provider can't pay, their sites will take longer to load for the user. thus putting certain companies out of business.

there's a lot more scary censorship stuff to this, but what i got from the program, was that these big corporations would control america's internet just like they (clear channel) now almost monopolize radio waves and tv. after the radio takeover happened, the government recognized the need for local radio stations and gave money/airwaves to something like 200 small radio stations across the country (not much of a consolation, but something). the big radio people tried to stop even that, and were successful in cutting the number of small, supported radio stations in half.

another f-ed up thing they talked about on the program, was the fact that we in the US have copper wiring for our internet connections. in other countries they have glass fiber wiring, which allows for 100 TIMES!! faster internet (thereby allowing way more, and better quality vidoes, video conferencing, music, animation, etc.) there are like 10 countries with this fast wiring. and our phone companies promised to build this new wiring infrastructure way back when (in like the early 90's i think), if they were allowed to charge more to the customer. well, they charged us more, but never built the infrastructure! just kept the money.

in lafayette, louisiana, a small city, the local government decided to build their own fiber infrastructure and connect all the citizens and businesses of the town. of course when the phone and cable companies heard of this, they tried to stop it. they are still trying to block it by holding it up in court. but it looks like lafayette will get the fiber infrastructure (and be way ahead of us turtles subject to sbc, cox, bell's money-hoarding ways). pretty cool. some other cities are also doing this, and being challenged by cable and phone companies.

what we can do, is write to our government officials and the fcc and urge them to keep the internet open, protect free speech and allow the US to be competitive with other countries, because this is in the interest of the people. the ONLY people who gain from not keeping the internet the way it is, is these huge corporations and the government officials who take their money. and corporations already control so much of the media.

never thought i'd get so fired up over the internet, but there's a lot at stake here. americans are so politically apathetic because we are disillusioned with our lack of voice and influence in the way this country is run these days. the internet is one of the last places for people to "meet" and "talk" and be active in shaping something larger.

ps. oo, be sure to check out the great links on how to save the internet that hilary posted in the comments.

on jobs, curry and cards

i feel like i don't write much here anymore because i'm unemployed. but i also want to write here, so maybe i just get over my unemployed status and tell you about it.

i am frustrated with the part-time job search because the job market is so ridiculous. i think about how much money i made at my editing/administrative job that i quit, and compare that to the salary of jobs that seem much more meaningful to me, and it just doesn't seem right. workers in some of the most important jobs are underpaid - teachers, people who work in elder care, artists/musicians, people who work at nonprofits that support/serve/promote/protect the arts, the environment/animals, education, the abused, the discriminated against, the underserved. (not that one can't make even the most mundane job meaningful, through one's interactions with others, etc., but just as far as the inherent meaning of the work...)

i go through a rigorous interview only to find out a job pays 10 dollars an hour. as meaningful as that job may be, i can't accept that pay living in SF.

at some point here i'm going to have to choose between a decent wage for a job i'm not that excited about, and a more fulfilling job that will require me to take out student loans.

but for today i am honing my minimal cooking skills (okra curry today and later this week broccoli ricotta cannelloni - yum), making fika cards (above - chairs loosely inspired by swedish chairs) and doing my homework. (the fact that i love doing homework is making me think i should again consider teaching...)

LOVE THE ALLEY

so many wonderful murals going up these days in SF. i love this one in the alley between 16th and 17th off valencia st. click on the pic above to see a couple other mural pics.
(i have to wonder if the painter chose that red hat cuz he knew how many photos he'd be in while painting.)

friday flickr faves (caffeinated + early again)

i don't drink coffee, but erica has an espresso machine, and so i've been trying a wee bit of espresso with A LOT of foamed milk/cream and sugar. it's pretty tasty. and she's sneaking in more espresso every time, so pretty soon i'll be an addict i spose.

of course i'm loving the norwegian beathe's photos.
i like the from above ones especially. (check out the wallpaper in the second one!) this living room of hers is pretty nice too.

more pretty food from above (and i don't even eat meat).

yummy

this one is hilarious because of the caption.

looking outside

guess i lied about not posting for a week.

just had to share these two sets of BEAUTIFUL mobiles i found on flickr. have you seen them?

some cool design. check out the kitchen under custom and the dj desk.

also, did you know annie leibovitz has a book out of her life's photography? did you know she and susan sontag were a couple until susan died? where was i? what a cool couple. here is an interesting review of the book and more about annie's life.

ps. i saw the science of sleep last night and it's so wonderful! i laughed from beginning to end. it is really funny. and such beautiful dream scenes!

friday flickr faves (early)

howling hound in a truck. passed these two grey, old hound dogs yesterday (the one is hidden by the other). the hound dog howl is so endearing/funny. soulful yet casual.

going to continue another week of not blogging, but here are some flickr faves in the meantime.

am really enjoying hihihi's photos:
lots of eggs
a beautiful place

also i love F_L's egg photo. looks like a painting.
swedish and homey
kitty coziness
johanna's i ate it set. so colorful!
beautiful croatia

listening to martha wainwright a lot.
watching this linked to by andrea. (it's not just pregnant ladies that cry over this i'm here to say.)