Some General SF Bay News

I was searching for info on the new Hospital Project Proposal (Geary between Franklin & Gough?) that has been hotly debated and found some other interesting things along the way.

Also, there is a proposal to build a brand new SF General Hospital. Then there is the new proposed Transbay Terminal Building slated for First and Mission St.

How about saving the Golden Gate Park Bandshell? It'll cost somewhere abouts $700 mil for a complete renovation. Good news is the funds may be available, you just need to rock the vote. Yeah seriously, vote here for your favorite landmark of the 25 Bay Area choices, and funding they shalll get. Hurry, votes are only counted thru 10/31/2006.

The Oakland Warriors basketball franchise has finally joined the marketing age. Since they started play at the Oakland Arena (in 1971) they have been without a sponsor for their arena. Now Oracle has reportedly agreed to terms (speculated to be $20-30 million total for a 10-year term) to name the venue Oracle Arena. I, personally, believe it is a sad testament (reflection of the team) that it takes 35 years for a team in a high-profile demographic area to garner this kind of advertising sponsor.

I can't wait to list this SF event, since it is so big. Annie Leibovitz will be speaking and signing copies of her her noteworthy book A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005 on Friday (10/27) at the Jewish Community Center in SF. What an amazing opportunity this would be for fans of her expansive work.

Okay, getting into entertainment, Chicago opened last night (Tues 10/24) for a two week run at the Orpheum Theatre here in SF. It is a highly praised cast with Huey Lewis in the lead role of Billy Flynn (uh, except Sat 10/28, this role will feature John O'Hurley). Tix are $25-85.

What happens if you get a Microsoft error message on your puter that says: "Your Password Must Be At Least 18770 Characters and Cannot Repeat Any of Your Previous 30689 Passwords"? I say your S.O.L. that's about sums it up. Oh yeah, and make sure to memorize your new password, writing it down somwhere leaves you vulnerable to someone finding it! ha!

Here's some kewl movie news. Cinematical writes of Clooney and the Coen Brothers together in another upcoming film project. I loved O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Intolerable Cruelty. Let's call the working title of this project Burn Before Reading... The FULL title of the Admiral Stansfield Turner book is: Burn Before Reading: President, CIA Directors and Secret Intelligence. Yeah, you try fitting that on a one-sheet!

I've got some interesting golf articles to discuss, prolly in my next post... Definitely by the weekend. Don't forget, this Sunday 10/29 early morn is the end of Daylight Saving Time. What there's no "s" at the end of Saving? Apparently not, here are the deets. Cheers peeps.

image credits: Kira at the GGP Bandshell is an original photo by me, Leibovitz pic from booksmith.com, Chicago from bestofbroadway-sf.com

Doggone Fun Run and Pet News.

Just a short addendum for weekend events around San Francisco.

The Doggone Fun Run is a 5k run/walk fundraiser event to help PAWS and the San Francisco SPCA. You can sign up in person for this event tomorrow at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park. The run/walk is tomorrow, Sat. Oct 14th from 9 am- 1 pm.

I also found this article about SF on National Geographic News. Perhaps San Francisco, our beloved City by the Bay will in the future be fueled by dog poop. Huh? Yeah. It seems those pesky Europeans have been doing this for years, and several U.S. farms already use the methane from poop for generating power for electricity and heating.

The good news is its pilot program is already started. The bad news is that it sounds like a pretty crappy job for somebody. But hey, read the article, it is very informative- and interesting. Cheers.

Fri Oct 13th Weekend Events

If you consider yourself even a mild fashionista then Hayes Valley is beckoning to you this Sunday (10/22)! From the RAGS Sidewalk Sale (Residents Apparel Gallery) to the Capsule Street Fair. The Capsule Street Fair (from 11 am- 6 pm) will utilize the new Hayes Valley Park and contain offerings from over 100 different designers. Yes, that is no typo: over one-hundred dee-zein-urs.

Daily Candy SF has a post for a new Cheese School . The Cheese School of San Francisco continuously offers events; next Thurs 10/19: For the Love of Chocolate andFri 10/20: Drop-In Night.

ODC Theater has the Savage Jazz Dance Company thru the weekend. Explosive, lyrical, and athletic jazz dance to the World Premiere of The Miles David Suite.

Of course, there is Oktoberfest 2006 at Fort Mason (Thurs-Sun). I'm personally not sure if this a genuinely interesting event with authentic food and celebrations, or whether it's just a commercialzed event unworthy of the $15 entrance fee.

The SF Jazz season starts next weekend, with Sonny Rollins kickin' things off (Fri 10/20), Alice Coltrane, Mary Stallings, and others getting top billing. Since I've lost the SFJazz org as a client, I won't go too much further into promoting them.

This Fri/Sat (10/13-14) the Red Vic Moviehouse is showing A Scanner Darkly. Next Fri (10/20) is the very moving film Waking Life. This film is stirring and thought-provoking, and I am impressed by how many know of it or have even seen it.

Apparently Howard Street will be CLOSED TO TRAFFIC FOR NINE DAYS between 3rd Street and 4th Street in SOMA. The software mogul Oracle will have a tent set-up between their two major convention halls outside the Moscone Center for OpenWorld. Howard Street will be closed from next Thursday 10/19 and will re-open on Sat, Oct. 28th.

Enjoy your weekend. Cheers.

image credits: Capsule from capsulesf.com, RAG from ragsf.com, A Scanner Darkly from Red Vic's website,

Internet Deals and X-Men 4 news

First, I won't be able to post upcoming weekend events on Thursday this week or next week, I'll try to post on Friday still.

Here's a nifty online game, Red, in which you are tasked to shoot and deflect objects... Everything is a blood red color. It's a simple game, but I've tried it a few times and it's pretty okay.

DealCatcher has a supreme deal for Buy.com: Samsung Sansa e250 2 GB mp3 player for $79.95 w/ FREE shipping. This is loaded with features: still Image viewing (JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF), video playback (VOB, WMV, QT MOV, MPEG, AVI), FM tuner & recorder, voice recorder, and spec'd at 20 hour battery life.

If you don't know what music player will play your music files, this CNET MP3 player compability wizard is a necessity to check BEFORE buying somethin' new.

Don't forget to check Woot! for a great deal every day, you never know when they might have that 'lil sumpin' sumpin' you are just looking for. Overstock.com is another great deals site.

YouTube sure made the news today with Google buying the privately held company. Here is a YT video on obeying the speed limit... Warning, it may make you speed for the rest of your given life (or, uhhh, not obey speed limits, shall we say?). It's worth watching though (hence, included in my post).

Research has shown that laughter has actual health benefits and helps to relieve stress. For the science-minded: it reduces levels of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, adrenaline, and dopamine. Pre-school aged children may laugh up to 400 times a day, but by adulthood, we laugh a mere 17 times a day. Now, that stat just makes me wanna cry (not really!).... Okay, maybe.

I finally watched X-Men 3: The Last Stand on dvd (from Netflix). While it was good, I thought its pacing and some small issues (possibly directoral) diminished my appreciation for the conclusion of this saga of X-Men. It really ought to be a 2 dvd set for sale, not the scrimpy one deeveedee it's sold as. And the bonus features are not that interesting.

So what's next? Magneto as a younger man- not that interesting to me. Wolverine a stand alone film... Okay, this could be interesting but I'm thinking this might also be a big disappointment (kinda like Ang Lee's Hulk), with all the build up and excitement that inevitably will surround this project.

The LA Daily News has a report about the possibility of X-Men 4. The website ComicBookMovie.com has an article about who is signed for X-Men 4 already. It's looking like a late 2008 release would be most likely.

I know many wanna see Gambit, I just wish they'd bring Nightcrawler back from X2... I think Nightcrawler is a more interesting character, and great for screen presence (with teleportation ability and his blueness). Maybe the rumors about Alan Cumming not wanting to work with Ratner were true, maybe they dint wanna have two blue characters in the film (Beast and Nightcrawler). Anyways...

image credits: Sansa E250 from buy.com., X-Men 3: The Last Stand from Amazon.com

Frank Miller's 300 and Sign Ramble

Originally, I wasn't much interested in Frank Miller's 300 being made into a feature film. I'm not much for the genre of 'ancient war' stuff, I guess. But now, with the style the film is being shot, lit, and processed; it's a whole different animal.

One of my fave film news sites, Cinematical, has a few posts about 300, here and a link to a comparison of panels-to-scenes on Solace in Cinema. This clearly is gonna be a hit at the box office. How much I dunno. I remember when Van Helsing was released how much hype it had around it. I also remember being very nonplussed by everything about it before I'd even seen it. And that had a production budget of $170 million.

I'd guess that when 300 comes out to theaters, it will prolly get into the top 25 releases of all time pretty easily; grossing nothing less than $70-75 mil opening weekend.

Okay, onto a pretty funny realistic (but fake!) sign that appeared in Los Angeles, this is from BoingBoing!. Now that got me to thinking, and I thunk... Now, I may not be a mental giant... but some signs seem about as dumb as a bag o' hammers.

At my gym (24 Hour Fitness), there is a plentitude of comedic material. I know athletes may not be known for their intellectual acuity (hey! it's not easy memorizing a football playbook- even if it's been reduced to the lowest denominators of Tic-Tac-Toe: "x's" and "o's"), but this is ridiculous.

At the jacuzzi there are multiple signs stating: "Shaving is not permitted in the jacuzzi." okay...... EWWWwwwWWWww!

Also, in the locker room is something like: "Be suspicious of people loitering around lockers." Yeah, and there are only, like, 4 tv's in there to help to prevent people from sitting on the benches and "loitering."

Another is something like: "Do not leave possessions unattended." Oh, it helps that these are on the inside of the locker stall doors... Ummm, isn't that why you're locking your things up?

In the locker room, there are signs stating: "Do not leave valuables in lockers." Ummm, isn't that what they're for?

Well, there you have it. Cheers.

image credits: Frank Miller's 300 from trailer at apple.com, total crisis sign from senselessvenndiagrams.com.

October 5-8, SF Weekend Events

This should be a pretty poppin' weekend to get out and do something fun. Aside from the gloomy weather today, it should clear up for Fleet Week Weekend.

Fleet Week is gonna mean loud jets, races, and airshows. Maybe a good time to try out that new digital camera on shutter priority!

October 7 & 8 is the First Annual Canine Film Festival at the Castro Theatre. Screenings include Best In Show, Shaggy Dog, and Wallace & Grommit.

The new Marciano Store opening is today in the Westfield SF Centre. Thanks to SFindiefashion, here are some deets. Two of the original Guess? brothers, Maurice and Paul, are involved in this line extension. Party tonight from 7-9 pm with "light refreshments," DJs, and models.

If you're seeking something more bookish, there is Litquake going on for 9 days (Oct 6-14). By far, the Friday Nite Opening event looks to be of the most interest (IMHO). Dave Eggers is a really great speaker/reader, funny and engaging. Litquake boasts over 300 participating authors.

And if you can get him to sign your books (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, You Shall Know Our Velocity!, How We Are Hungry, etc) he's likely to draw a pretty little scene inside, personalize, AND sign his name!

The San Francisco World Music Festival continues through Saturday (9/24-10/7), with Chinese Opera events/workshops going on through Saturday.

Hovey Lee Jewelry is celebrating its 5th year with a discount of 15% off purchases up to $199 and 25% off purchases over $200. Offer good through the end of October. Some very nice (Byzantine-inspired) jewelry at a very, very fabulous price.

If you're more in the mood to stay in, SFGate has 20 Best Recipes from Two Decades of the Chronicle Food section. Yummm!

A couple quick notes. The Cool Hunter has some very swank interior space designs on their site that address both form + function amazingly, and Inhabitat pointed me to GreenGrid Roofs... A beautiful concept, that no doubt will get ever-more-popular as buildings continually grow taller and green space becomes such a premium.

image credits: Blue Angels from sfgate.com, LitQuake from litquake.org, Food at 20 from SFGate.com

Film Books I'm Reading

Gosh, "film books" seems like yet another oxymoron. Like audio books, motion picture, and press release. A long while back I blogged a few books I'd planned to read: Dress Your Family in Courdoroy and Denim by David Sedaris, The Hit by Jere Hoar, and The Secret by Eva Hoffman. Of these, I found The Secret to be by far the most compelling. While DYFICAD was a witty and interesting read, I found it not as absorbing as I had expected (due to its excellent reviews).

The Secret is a novel that quickly establishes Hoffman has strong control over language, being thoughtfully written, and a very interesting topic to handle. Now, it felt frustrating to have figured out the secret so early on; and have the protagonist take so long to catch up, but that ultimately is forgivable. Quite an interesting introduction to an author I'll likely read more of.

I'd also picked up a bargain book from Green Apple Books called Teek by Steven Krane. I find this book is right up there with a lot of sci-fi-ish books, with a great pace, story and some interesting developments along the way. I liked it so much I got another Krane read Stranger Inside, which I felt was pretty flat and not up to the standard I had hoped- after reading Teek with so much enthusiasm.

Just before Acorn Books went out of business (a week ago) I picked up Ken Follett's Code to Zero and it is a very likeable story. Follett is great at crafting what I deem "Historical Fiction," based around historical events, with a strong dose of fiction in the recipe. While not his best work (I like the Key to Rebecca, Eye of the Needle, Paper Money, and Hammer of Eden), it is a fast read, worthy of your time if you find any of his other work enjoyable.

Currently, I am taking my time on reading. I've gotten into a new project: working on writing my first screenplay. It's a major event for me, and will require a significant amount of time and energy. Luckily, I have a good person to work with as a sounding board and some directional/dialogue help along the way. I'm working on getting it completed for a pitch meeting by sometime early-to-middle of next year. The learning process takes time- as will the actual writing. You can look for my film in theatres by about... two-thousand-oh-never. ha. Only time will tell. Just getting it sold would be a tremendous success.

That said, my reading palette now includes: Story by Robert McKee and a few books I picked up from the Big Book Sale courtesy of the SF Public Library: The Portable Film School by D.B. Giles, Jacob's Ladder (screenplay) by Bruce Joel Rubin, and Fade In (2nd ed) by Robert A. Berman. So far I am about 1/3 through Story, and it is a very, very comprehensive book about the craft of screenplay writing. I am impressed with the thoroughness of insight and examples McKee draws from throughout the book.

A quick note: X-Men 3: The Last Stand releases on dvd this week. I found out (from mintcar) about a film that premiered at Cannes this year: Daft Punk's Electroma. Looks like a film I could very well enjoy. Some stunning imagery, and a sci-fi story line. If you read French, you can follow this article.

I should be blogging a few times a week from now on. Somehow, from Labor Day weekend on, my visitor stats dropped significantly and it has me baffled as to whether peeps are still visiting my blog. I am STILL having MAJOR problems publishing posts using Blogger... So that adds some tedium to new blog posts. Ah well, anyways. Cheers.

image credits: Daft Punk's Electroma from culturecafe.midiblogs.com

Movie News and a Google Cell Phone Feature

Well, it's a new week and I hope everybody reading this got to the SF Library's Big Book Sale this past weekend. I went on Thursday and picked up a large bunch of books. From architecture to graphics to poetry- hey I got a several books printed in the 1800's for a buck or two (Milton's Paradise Lost, Hougton, 1866; Robert Service's Rhymes of a Red Cross Man, 1916; Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, 1867; a leather bound Scott's Complete Poetical Works, Crowell, 1894, and other books).

Don't even get me started on the cd's and movies I picked up for a dollar each. My faves (so far) are the Floetry cd maxi-single of wannaBwhereUR (thisizzaluvsong) featuring Mos Def w/ an a cappella version that is just poppin' and the glory of Gershwin featuring Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, Sting, and many others.

I also picked up Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Stand By Me, and The Legend of Bagger Vance for a buck a piece. I loved WFRR when it came out, and clearly stands the test of time very well. What an original story, with great effects, and some very sharp dialogue.

Now, film news. First, I can't believe it's taken this long for the Orson Scott Card book Ender's Game to be made into a movie. Originally a 1977 short story (I think for Omni Magazine?) and first printed in 1985. A remarkable book that should be well worth a view if it's done at all intelligently. Bummer I don't have a signed copy of Ender's Game, but I've got a hardcover first edition signed of Speaker for the Dead. A really great series.

Robert Downey Jr. is now cast to play the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man. It is reported that director Jon Favreau may have up to $165 million to work with for the pic. Wow, I guess the screenplay must be pretty compelling to fetch that kind of cheddar.

Some of you may have read a while back my blog post about the onslaught of comic-genre films to come: Ant Man, Iron Man, The Mighty Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Hulk 2, Dark Knight (Batman), Superman Returns, and Spidey 3. X-Men 4 is still being talked about also as far as I can tell. Add the Transformers movie and you have a serious amount of Hollywood's investments.

It seems Emma Watson may not be in any more Harry Potter films. Aparrently somebody has been talking in her ear or she has the idea it's not interesting or good for her career. She's getting all grown up, and I'm sure she'll be looking for some more mature roles soon. I doubt she'd have a tough time landing them with her looks and her CV.

Now, I've just learned a really, really helpful tip that many peeps may already know about (or not). Sometimes I'm the last to know, but in this instance, I've taught a couple peeps and it's useful (did I already mention it's helpful? Yeah, helpful and useful... wow).

Okay, using your cell phone, did you know you could Google a place for infomation? Yup. Here's the low down. It works on at least Cingular and Verizon, but the smart money is it works with any service that offers text messaging. I know it works in NYC and SF, I dunno if it's nationwide. Let's say you wanna look up "Chapeau" (a great French restaurant in SF). Type everything in between the [brackets] below.

1. you start to compose a text message in your phone
2. type [CHAPEAU] then a space then [SF] then a space then [CA]
3. prompt will ask to send, send message
4. dial [466453] (that's "Google" peeps)
5. press "send message" when prompted.
6. wait about 40 seconds-ish for reply.
7. my reply looked like this:

Text: Local Listings:
Chapeau
1408 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA
94118
415-750-9787
3.1 mi, W

You can even scroll down to the number and dial it directly (without typing it in). That's just wicked. If you have a text charge, it will apply; but I'd figure it's less (about 5 pennies) than directory assistance (about 2 bucks) on your celly. I realize 466453 is not even a 7 digit number, but it's a text message so it somehow sends to a "code" prompted, like some radio stations do.

I have about 40 restaurants listed in my phone, maybe I won't be adding many more now. Thanks Julie and Dami for the info!

image credits: Gershwin from amazon.com, Ender's Game from alibris.com, Iron Man from RottenTomatoes.com, Emma Watson pic from ImageWire.com on imdb.com.