A Life Less Ordinary

Miles

By Irene

Today was San Francisco Day. It started with a coffee meeting at Ritual Roasters in the Mission. I had a good drip coffee, which I didn't see the name of, and a currant and orange scone. I also bought a dulce de leche cookie because I needed to reach a $5 minimum to use my credit card. After the meeting I decided that I wanted to take a walk, and walk I did. I walked about 6 miles from the Mission to the Russian part of town, on the North side of Golden Gate Park, to 25th and Geary. 16th-25th streets along Geary are considered a Russian neighborhood. I've never been there, but heard that the stores/restaurants are good. I was a little disappointed that there weren't more russian stores, I was expecting russian writing and storefronts everywhere, but actually the Russian was thoroughly mixed in with Korea Town. I did see a Russian Orthodox Church, and a priest with a blue tooth in his ear, which was awesome. I knew I officially entered Russian Town when I saw women wearing animal printed clothing.

In "Russian Town" I took a double take at a window store front with a poster saying Alla Pugacheva will be singing at Zellerbach. I went in to talk to the owner of the store, the man has be in SF for 30 years, he has two sons both working jobs they're not particulary fond of, and he used to be in the show-biz in Russia. When he came to SF he first worked as a taxi driver for 15 years, then got this Russian video/DVD store and organizes Russian performances here in America. He name dropped names of some people  he's worked with, but I didn't know any of them --- I think as an older semi-famous person it would be frustrating when a younger person doesn't know you. But I couldn't really fake knowing that stuff. I called dad, mom and you before going back into the store. Dad didn't pick up, which always makes me feel bad for the person in surgery, who obviously isn't doing well at all if dad doesn't take a call from us. He texted me later asking if everything was alright. Anyhow, I ended up, as you know, not buying the tickets to the concert, waiting to hear if I can volunteer usher. Instead, I bought pelmenyi (which I already tried, they are really good) and a bylachka c makom. It was DELICIOUS. SO GOOD. Oh man. I ate it at the bus stop, because there was no way I was walking anymore.

So after that I took the bus to the Civic Center, where I snagged a $15 ticket to a completely sold out performance of La Traviata with Anna Netrebko. The seat is ridiculously in a bad spot, and I only got one, BUT I'm so excited to go. I called mom as soon as I stepped out of the opera house, and mom was like....I can see that you are very excited, please be careful and concentrate as to where you are going. Oh mom. So then I caught the BART back to Downtwon Berkeley: the pelmenyi almost didn't make it (which, to be fair, mom warned me about).

All in all, today would not have been possible without the trusty iPhone's Google Maps. A map is a lot easier to follow when there's a little blue dot showing exaclty where you are. AND it gives fantastic public transportation directions, which I used to get to the Civic Center from Geary. My epic excursion was mainly through neighborhoods: I walked along Castro for a long time: saw a huge half-raised gay flag, saw the city from the very top (21st street), looking down east towards the Bay and the huge radio tower half covered in thick white clouds in frotn of me. Saw so many houses and walked up a lot of really steep hills. At some point the wind blew my sunglasses off my face. I ate my banana along the way, and my cookie. I didn't have an iPod and I didn't talk on the phone. I just sorta....walked, it reminded me a lot of last summer in Europe. I don't even remember what I thought about for those two hours I spent today just roaming through endless city streets.

Ballet Watching - What One Should Never Do

By Irene

At the risk of sounding pretentious I would like to say the following:

When watching a ballet performance in a formal setting, such as say, the San Francisco Opera House, there are certain actions which proper etiquette absolutely prohibit you from undertaking:

1. Inappropriate public display of affection.
        ie kissing, nudging, groping. Tights and well built performers can make anyone want to get it on, but please please please wait until you get home. Don't put on a show for the people behind you, that's gross, after all we came for a ballet, not an educational video on foreplay. AND we can't see the stage because you're heads are too close together!!!!

2. Inappropriate signs of appreciation for the art
        ie clapping before the dance is over, yelling as though you are at a football game, or whistling in a not stylish manner. I don't know why, but "Bravo!" is permissible. I know you might want to be the person who started the applause, but wait until someone who is more familiar with the music and the ballet in this particular case. This is not that movie scene where someone just did something brave and everyone is quiet and then someone starts clapping slowly.

Back to our Roots

Dear Helen,
Who needs frat boy when there are the following: Clark Gable, Paul Newman, Jimmy Stewart, and Robert Redford?

 

In the past two days I have watched the following:
1. It Happened One Night (Clark Gable)
2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Paul Newman + Robert Redford)
3. The Shop Around the Corner (Jimmy Stewart)

It's like Momo said, you have to know your past in order to understand your present. Each one of those classics is definitely worth your time. They are romantic, well written, clever and they have something to them...I guess there's a bit of magic in them, really. And some fine looking actors.

I have reasons to go too

By Helen

When I get to a museum, I go through the first hall or two very slowly.  I read all the signs and historical background.  I swear to myself that I will remember all of it and be able to intelligently drop historical facts into a conversation as if it was perfectly natural.  Eventually my attention span passes, and I start aimlessly wandering through room to room, stopping at art that catches my eye.

I guess I try to think about what moves me and why.  And why I chose to stop at this work and not the other. I figure if I felt something, there must be a reason. 

That's why I go - to make sure that things other than my immediate trivial happenings can impact me and my thought process and make me pause.

I also try to go to exhibits that I feel will fill in my gaps in education or serve as reminders to information I should have remembered from college or high school, but don't.

Why go?

By Irene

Why do people go to museums? My very talented artist friend, Niv Bavarsky , is constantly peeved that people go just to say that they went, not to actually look at the art. I think that all sorts of different people go for all sorts of different reasons. But seeing as I can only speak for myself, and I recently went to the San Francisco MOMA on a very crowded Free Tuesday, I can say that I go for several reasons.

1. To look at life through the eyes of many artists and medias; to take time and examine some very small details blown up onto large canvases
2. To seem intellectual to myself (and then to everyone I can tell I went to the museum that day, and to the people at the museum)
3. To observe the other people that are there- any public space is like a zoo of human specimen.
4. To be inspired, overwhelmed, and completely switch gears from the daily to something on a different brain wave. 
5. Because going to museums was instilled in us since we were old enough to walk. 
6. To have something to talk about, to laugh at pieces of 'art', to wander in an air conditioned building, to be in a space built specifically to wander and think in
7. To learn [very useful] stuff and then just as quickly forget it

Why do you go?