I spent Memorial Day weekend visiting some college friends in Washington, D.C. It was only the second time I have visited the city as a young adult, but the first time was short and I spent most of it hanging out at my friends house. Of course, I did the whole tourist thing with my family when I was about ten, but that trip didn't turn out so well. In fact, I think we had an early departure after some tramp in the hotel gym accused my dad of sexually assaulting her when he was checking out the gym equipment and unconsciously scratched his balls (which as we all know, men do without thinking the same way women drop "like" in the middle of every sentence). Needless to say, my dad didn't take it so well and I'm pretty sure there were a few F-bombs dropped to the hotel manager after he found out that this woman wasn't even an actual hotel guest, OR member of the gym.
In any case, this weekend was a much more pleasant experience, filled with my favorite glorious B's: boozing, basking, and brunching. The weather was in the high 80's and sunny (with some scattered thunderstorm showers), and since it was a long holiday weekend there were plenty of celebratory BBQ's and pool parties. I saw lots of friends from college, some I didn't even know they lived in DC. I also managed to see some people that were also visiting for the weekend, including my favorite pair of twins who were celebrating their 24th birthday with a pool party and a keg.
I drank only beer all day on Sunday, played about 7 games of beirut, and probably could have been cajoled to do a keg stand. It was definitely a college flash back. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I spent a day drinking only beer. Probably because I don't actually like beer all that much, and drinking it all day can give you the worst beer belly hangover for about two days straight. Fortunately we were able to temporarily cure our hangovers with some make-your-own-mimosas at Memorial Day brunch, and I found out I like mango juice mimosas much more than orange juice.
Apparently, Memorial Day weekend is also the weekend that motorcycling vets ride through the Mall (the one with the important buildings, not a shopping mall) with American flags attached to their bikes. Speaking of which, D.C. is so freakin' AMERICAN! Everywhere you look, there is red, white and blue; images of Obama plastered on the sides of buildings, t-shirts, pins, storefronts, sidewalks... I thought I was going to open my burger to put ketchup on it and there would be some Obama-shaped head inside it. It's nice to see that the city has so much pride for our country's president, but I have to admit I was a littler overwhelmed by all the overt patriotism.
It was so much fun spending the weekend with my friends in an unfamiliar city, but it's nice to get back to my mosquito-less, organic, hipster-ridden San Francisco.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
B2B: San Francisco's favorite city-wide holiday!
The third Sunday in May marks a glorious occasion for all San Franciscans: the annual foot race from the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean, also known as "Bay to Breakers" or the biggest shit show of the year.
Though it is often compared to New Orleans' Mardi Gras, B2B is something entirely unique and incomparable to any other city event. The actual racers take off on their 7-mile jaunt to the beach at about 8am, some in costumes that are just doing it for fun, and others in runners gear who are actually competing to make it to the shore. But for the most part, it's the band of thousands and thousands of people that follow the runners that make the day famously known for nude runners, floats adorned with kegs and women in bikinis, absurd costumes, and of course public intoxication.
This year marked the 98th Annual Bay to Breakers, and it almost didn't happen. Well, it wouldn't have been canceled per se, but there was a threat to ban alcohol and nudity, which would have taken away everything that defines Bay to Breakers. Fortunately, some city officials stepped up to support the tradition of B2B and our precious event was saved.
This was only my second Bay to Breakers, and I must admit that last year seemed a little more crazy than this year. Maybe because last year I started downtown with the rest of the drunken buffoons, or maybe because we had a bigger group and a more organized theme (Mario Kart), or maybe just because I was more drunk last year and I couldn't even make it past the half-way mark, the Panhandle. (For those of you who have never been to SF, the Panhandle is the little green strip of park that leads to Golden Gate park.) The Panhandle is really the make-or-break point of Bay to Breakers; it separates the binge drinkers from the black outers. If you can make it past the ridiculousness that is the Panhandle, than your chances of making it to the beach increase by 50%.
This year I dressed as "pink slips" with some friends of mine - we wore pink nightgowns and pinned post-its on us with messages like "downsizing" and "we're going to have to let you go." As we walked through the Panhandle this year, I was stopped by a group of cops standing around a huge pile of empty beer cans. One cop pulled on my arm and asked me to finish by beer or throw it out. I had quite a lot left, so I tried to chug it, and another cop grabbed my arm, turning the can upside down and causing the beer to spill on my toes. Annoyed, I huffed and puffed and moved along down the street, determined to make it out of the booze-trap that the Panhandle had turned into.
Before I knew it we had made it to the deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park, only mere miles from our final destination, Ocean Beach, where we planned to run into the ocean and cool off from the 4 mile walk (we started at Alamo Square) in the unusually hot 85 degree weather. By the time we got to the beach, I was sunburned on my chest, and limping from a blister on the bottom of my foot that was the size of a quarter. But that didn't stop me from dashing to the water and falling asleep for about an hour on the hot sand.
This year did seem more tame than the last, and maybe it was because of the regulations the cops tried to enforce. Either way, I hope that it has shown the city that they can (try to) take our beer, but they can't take our freedom!
Though it is often compared to New Orleans' Mardi Gras, B2B is something entirely unique and incomparable to any other city event. The actual racers take off on their 7-mile jaunt to the beach at about 8am, some in costumes that are just doing it for fun, and others in runners gear who are actually competing to make it to the shore. But for the most part, it's the band of thousands and thousands of people that follow the runners that make the day famously known for nude runners, floats adorned with kegs and women in bikinis, absurd costumes, and of course public intoxication.
This year marked the 98th Annual Bay to Breakers, and it almost didn't happen. Well, it wouldn't have been canceled per se, but there was a threat to ban alcohol and nudity, which would have taken away everything that defines Bay to Breakers. Fortunately, some city officials stepped up to support the tradition of B2B and our precious event was saved.
This was only my second Bay to Breakers, and I must admit that last year seemed a little more crazy than this year. Maybe because last year I started downtown with the rest of the drunken buffoons, or maybe because we had a bigger group and a more organized theme (Mario Kart), or maybe just because I was more drunk last year and I couldn't even make it past the half-way mark, the Panhandle. (For those of you who have never been to SF, the Panhandle is the little green strip of park that leads to Golden Gate park.) The Panhandle is really the make-or-break point of Bay to Breakers; it separates the binge drinkers from the black outers. If you can make it past the ridiculousness that is the Panhandle, than your chances of making it to the beach increase by 50%.
This year I dressed as "pink slips" with some friends of mine - we wore pink nightgowns and pinned post-its on us with messages like "downsizing" and "we're going to have to let you go." As we walked through the Panhandle this year, I was stopped by a group of cops standing around a huge pile of empty beer cans. One cop pulled on my arm and asked me to finish by beer or throw it out. I had quite a lot left, so I tried to chug it, and another cop grabbed my arm, turning the can upside down and causing the beer to spill on my toes. Annoyed, I huffed and puffed and moved along down the street, determined to make it out of the booze-trap that the Panhandle had turned into.
Before I knew it we had made it to the deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park, only mere miles from our final destination, Ocean Beach, where we planned to run into the ocean and cool off from the 4 mile walk (we started at Alamo Square) in the unusually hot 85 degree weather. By the time we got to the beach, I was sunburned on my chest, and limping from a blister on the bottom of my foot that was the size of a quarter. But that didn't stop me from dashing to the water and falling asleep for about an hour on the hot sand.
This year did seem more tame than the last, and maybe it was because of the regulations the cops tried to enforce. Either way, I hope that it has shown the city that they can (try to) take our beer, but they can't take our freedom!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
"Sexy" French Films
So, I love French culture. I love the language, the food, the art, the wine, the country of course, and the films. Between taking French in middle school and high school, and a French film course in college and just a general interest in French cinema, I've probably seen about 50+ French films in my life. It has only recently occurred to me that most or all of these films have sexual undertones, mostly related to incestuous relationships, molestation, familial nudity, and just a lot of boning.
I was recently lucky enough to see two French films at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The first film I saw is called Home. It's about a carefree family whose lives are disrupted when a four-lane highway opens up in their front yard. There is familial nudity in about every 4 scenes, and some inappropriate "scratching" between mother and sun. That being said, I fucking loved the movie and everyone should see it. (I didn't love it because of the nudity, but it was certainly a plus).
The second film I saw is called 35 Shots of Rum. I'm not really sure what it's about. A segmented family that lives in the same apartment building in three separate apartments? Maybe. I guess it's not really about anything. But I do know that the scenes where the mother and father were inappropriately hugging and touching each other, and saying things like "I love being here with you" - that stuff made me feel really awkward. My friend who I saw it with said, "I think that's just how French people are; really close to their family." Maybe so, but does that mean you have to dance closely with your dad while groping his back? I think not.
When I think about all the French films I saw in school, I realize this is a common theme. La Boum is about this girl who is in love with her best friends father, and she even tries to lose her virginity to him at one point (whilst she has a boyfriend of her own age). Another film I saw is called Baise-Moi which roughly translates to a) "Love Me," b) "Fuck Me," and c) "Eat Me. The film is about this cannibalistic guy who literally eats women... down there. You get it.
I could go on and on with examples, but the truth is you have to give major props to the French for being so sexy and getting away with such provocative themes. If an American film maker made a film about a guy eating womens' private parts for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I don't think it would go over very well with the critics. Maybe in Cannes, but certainly not at Sundance.
I was recently lucky enough to see two French films at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The first film I saw is called Home. It's about a carefree family whose lives are disrupted when a four-lane highway opens up in their front yard. There is familial nudity in about every 4 scenes, and some inappropriate "scratching" between mother and sun. That being said, I fucking loved the movie and everyone should see it. (I didn't love it because of the nudity, but it was certainly a plus).
The second film I saw is called 35 Shots of Rum. I'm not really sure what it's about. A segmented family that lives in the same apartment building in three separate apartments? Maybe. I guess it's not really about anything. But I do know that the scenes where the mother and father were inappropriately hugging and touching each other, and saying things like "I love being here with you" - that stuff made me feel really awkward. My friend who I saw it with said, "I think that's just how French people are; really close to their family." Maybe so, but does that mean you have to dance closely with your dad while groping his back? I think not.
When I think about all the French films I saw in school, I realize this is a common theme. La Boum is about this girl who is in love with her best friends father, and she even tries to lose her virginity to him at one point (whilst she has a boyfriend of her own age). Another film I saw is called Baise-Moi which roughly translates to a) "Love Me," b) "Fuck Me," and c) "Eat Me. The film is about this cannibalistic guy who literally eats women... down there. You get it.
I could go on and on with examples, but the truth is you have to give major props to the French for being so sexy and getting away with such provocative themes. If an American film maker made a film about a guy eating womens' private parts for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I don't think it would go over very well with the critics. Maybe in Cannes, but certainly not at Sundance.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Yummies: Volume 2
Last night my friend and I spontaneously decided to make some artichoke dip. We decided to wing it with the recipe and it actually came out pretty tasty, and was easy to make.
The key is to have fresh artichokes, not the canned or jarred kind (even though most recipes call for that). California has great artichokes this time of year, and my friend hand-picked these from Alameny Farm in the Outer Mission area of San Francisco.
Start off by boiling 2-3 artichokes for about 30 minutes to soften them up. Once boiled, cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for another 30 minutes. Take them out to see if they're cooked (heart should be soft) then let them cool for a bit.
In the mean time, mix:
-1/2 cup room temperature non-flavored soy milk
-1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
-one small tub container of cream cheese, softened
-two chopped scallions, or green onion (does anybody know the real difference?)
-10 garlic cloves - chop 3 or 4 of them and leave the rest whole
-2 or 3 Tablespoons of butter (creamy butter, like Smart Butter is recommended)
-1 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper or Paprika
Once the artichokes are done, chop up the heart and add it to the mixture. Mix well, and transfer to an oven safe container. Then place into the oven (uncovered) and heat at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
Serve with sourdough bread or crackers and enjoy!
The key is to have fresh artichokes, not the canned or jarred kind (even though most recipes call for that). California has great artichokes this time of year, and my friend hand-picked these from Alameny Farm in the Outer Mission area of San Francisco.
Start off by boiling 2-3 artichokes for about 30 minutes to soften them up. Once boiled, cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for another 30 minutes. Take them out to see if they're cooked (heart should be soft) then let them cool for a bit.
In the mean time, mix:
-1/2 cup room temperature non-flavored soy milk
-1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
-one small tub container of cream cheese, softened
-two chopped scallions, or green onion (does anybody know the real difference?)
-10 garlic cloves - chop 3 or 4 of them and leave the rest whole
-2 or 3 Tablespoons of butter (creamy butter, like Smart Butter is recommended)
-1 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper or Paprika
Once the artichokes are done, chop up the heart and add it to the mixture. Mix well, and transfer to an oven safe container. Then place into the oven (uncovered) and heat at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
Serve with sourdough bread or crackers and enjoy!
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