Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. I was living 90 miles from the city at that time, yet even I was directly affected by it: our driveway cracked. Of course, everyone living in SF today is directly affected by it every time we walk along the beautiful wide Embarcadero sidewalks that replaced the ugly freeway that used to cut the city’s pedestrians off from the water.

P.S. Today is the deadline for registering to vote. Check out today’s SF Chronicle article on voting requirements and places to register.

Boy this weekend is proving to be one of the busiest ever in San Francisco. From Friday Oct. 15 to Sunday Oct. 17 is the second annual Harvest Festival to take place at the Ferry Plaza Marketplace. Retailers will be having special discounts and treats for people to sample and try out.

I went to check the festival out earlier today for the Friday “Happy Hour”, and I have to say, that the treats are amazing. Check it out:

• I had 6 fresh oysters on the half-shell for $5. That’s less than a dollar per oyster!
• Recchiuiti Confections were giving out FREE gourmet chocolate samples. FREE. My favorite was the Fleur de Sel that has a bit of French sea salt inside. It sounds weird, but the chocolate just tastes so much… chocolatey-er with the salt in it.
• Cowgirl Creamery was selling cheese sample bags for a pretty good price. You could either get the Red Hawk and Mt. Tam sample bag with a spreader for $10, or spend $18 for a Red Hawk, Mt. Tam, and Pierce Point sample bag that comes with a bag of crackers as well as a spreader. This is a pretty good deal, considering the three-sample package usually costs something like $65.
• Charles Phan of Slanted Door was handing out free Vietnamese rice snacks, to help promote donations to the Farmer’s Market. Steamed rice infused with pandan leaves (It’s a type of fragrant leaf from South East Asia), is mixed with coconut, peanuts, brown and white sugar, and then wrapped in a large leaf for on-the-go passers-by. It was delicious, and takes me back to the night markets in Malaysia when I was a child. He said he’ll be there all weekend, so check it out if you can.
• I also tried out the Harvest Festival special bento box that Delica rf1 was selling for $10 each. The salad and Osaka-style sushi tasted okay, but the star of the box was definitely the roast duck. Yum.
• I then went and had a bit of a brisket sandwich and roasted veggie combo from Mistral and Potter Family Farms, as well as a profiterole from Miette and Ciao Bella. Both were relatively inexpensive, and delicious to boot.

Yes, I ate quite a bit there. But how could I not? Free food? Discounted organic fare? I’m such a sucker for that kind of stuff. There was also discounted wine ($5 a glass) that they were handing out for wine-tasting. I didn’t feel like getting too tipsy, so I held off on the wine.. but it certainly sounds like a good deal.

All in all, if you’re a foodie like I am, run, don’t walk, to the Harvest Festival this weekend!

For more information on special events and treats, go to the Harvest Festival’s website.

I hate it when there are too many fun things to do on one night, and this Saturday certainly fits that bill.

• Over in the Mission, Otsu, a store devoted to stylish vegan clothing, shoes and accessories, is throwing a party (FREE, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.) to celebrate their second birthday and the release of a new eco-friendly datebook. Get there early for treats from The Bakery Box, makers of an amazing vegan chocolate cake that’s better than most of the full-fat chocolate cake I’ve had at local bakeries.
• Across town, the 540 Club in the Inner Richmond is the setting for a Matt Gonzalez-organized party (FREE admission but you have to buy your own beverages, 7:00-10:00 p.m.) in support of re-electing district 1 supervisor Jake McGoldrick. The evening’s festivities include the excellent beer and music you’d expect from this neighborhood bar, plus an appearance by Jello Biafra.
• And in Oakland, Bitch magazine is celebrating the release of their latest issue, Fake, with an evening of women-friendly music (9:00 onward) at the Mile High Club. This event is a fundraiser for the magazine, with a requested $10-$20 donation.

There’s a lot going on with regards to Art Gallery openings this month.

In line with that is the fantastic “Artists for Jane” event this upcoming Saturday.

Artists for Jane! October 16, 2004
7 pm Doors Open and Silent Auction
8-10pm Show and Live AuctionPunch Gallery at 155 10th Street (cross street: Howard Street). $10
ALL AGES

Renowned slam artists Bao Phi, Shailja Patel, Jason Mateo, James Kass, Adriel Luis, and Aimee Suzara raise their voices in support of Jane Kim for School Board in this combination performance and art auction. There artists are National Poetry Slam and Def Poetry Jam artists. Works from local Bay Area photographers, graphic artists, painters as well as from Matt Gonzalez’s personal art collection will be on silent and live auction. More info on artists to come!

Special discount for youth and student volunteers. Email Students 4 Jane at: students4jane@yahoo.com to sign up!

If you have previously been curious re: Spoken Word events in SF, I highly recommend this event, regardless of your thoughts re: local politics. It should be an amazing evening of nacreous beauty in both lyric, song, and art. The art show/silent auction should be interesting as well since Matt Gonzalez, an insanely avid art collector, is donating several pieces from his personal collection. Who knows what you might be able to find.

Myself, I will be donating my Carwash Series Prints. Considering that the framing along cost $150+, we’re hoping to raise some good dollars for the campaign. Maybe this will give me a bit more confidence with some more of my photagraphy.

If you would like to donate art for the auction, or plan on attending: please let me know. It’ll be a delightful way to spend the evening with you.

Yes, my friends, it is once again that time of year where we get to chow on bratwursts, drink some cold German lager, and jig away to live Bavarian music. San Francisco’s annual Oktoberfest by the Bay will take place from Thursday, October 14 to Sunday, October 17 at the beautiful Fort Mason. Sunday is stated to be the “official German Day” and will feature live music and concert performances. Tickets are $12 at the door, while kiddies 12 and under get in for free. The following are the date/time details:

Thursday & Friday from 5pm-12am
Saturday from 11am-11pm
Sunday from 11am-7pm

More info on their website. Guten tag to all!

* Getting to play rockstar tourguide to new friends
* Walking on the golden gate bridge with your eyes closed
* Daring someone to climb up a sculpture in the Palace of Fine Arts
* Losing your slippers while walking drawing words on the beach
* Gasping as the sun comes up through Japanese screens in Jtown
* Smelling tamales as you walk down Mission street
* Hearing 8 different languages within a block walk
* Ironic teeshirts a plenty in the Haight
* Great live music for cheap or free
* Irish barowners who kiss you on the cheek
* Agressive politically savvy writers in *every* single paper
* Coffee or boba – choice is always v. good.

Sorry it’s been a while. Been amok amok amok.

I haven’t been around much the past week because I’ve been immersed in the world of comics. In addition to finishing illustrations for a print-zine, I just taught myself how to turn my handwriting into a font so that I can letter my comics more effectively, without looking overly institutional. To me, the fact that I just made a font from my handwriting is one of the sexiest things ever. Maybe that’s just me.

However, because I’m immersed in the world of comics, I thought I would remind you that we, here in the Bay Area, are lucky enough to host the Cartoon Art Museum.

On October 23rd, Bill Amend (of Foxtrot fame), will be doing a book signing and presentation. If that doesn’t float your boat, there’s also an exhibition of political cartoons from The Wasp and another one on Raggedy Ann and her posse. Check out the website for more info.

I have to return to my scanner and Font Creator, but I’ll have to leave the house eventually. And when I do, I’ll tell you all about it.

P.S. The title to this entry is from the Teen Titan theme song, as performed by Puffy AmiYumi, who played in the city last night. I thought it was appropriate.

Some of you may remember my near obsession with Craigslist a few entries back. And who could blame me? I know of hundreds of people that couldn’t have survived in this City without such a resource. I have gotten jobs and internships because of Craigslist. In a matter of 2-3 months, I’ve had about five job interviews thanks to Craigslist. And while I personally haven’t used Craigslist to find an apartment or a house, I know plenty who have. And… well, the list goes on as to how awesome Craigslist is, from the awesome community, to the wealth of resources. This is why Craig Newmark is, in my view, one of the Bay Area’s greatest saviors.

So it is with delight when I found this article about A day in the life of Craig Newmark. It’s surprisingly detailed, chronicling his routine from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in a single day. Reading the article just makes me like the man even more (A Daily Show and a Kate Spade fan? A man after my own heart.) Fab stuff. If you’re a Craigslist-a-holic like I am, you really should read this.

PS. FYI, Craig also has his own most-excellent blog.

Despite the media coverage last month about the Blue Angels snubbing San Francisco’s Fleet Week celebration, I’d forgotten all about it until I kept hearing noisy jet engines overhead today. You only have a few hours to go outside to enjoy the air show, but the Robot Fighting League National Championships don’t conclude until 11:00 p.m. tonight.

As mentioned previously on this metblog, the 4 Star movie theater in the Richmond district has been slated to be shut down this year. Some background: The theater is the home of the Asian American Film Festival, shows foreign movies from Asia year-round, and has been around since 1919 or so. Their lease expired earlier this year, and the 4 Star was slated to be torn down and to be turned into a church. However, there was a groundswell of grassroots support to save the 4 star. They also got quite a bit of press from the Chron and the SF Bay Guardian.

Well, it looks like all that support might have stopped the demolition. According to this article, the Board of Supervisors have approved a 45-day moratorium where no neighborhood theater can be demolished within that time period. The board will use that time period to consider preservation measures, and the moratorium may even be extended to 22 months. It looks like the moratorium was directly prompted by the threat to the 4 Star. There’s also some updated information on the Save the 4 Star site (Click on the “updated information” link).

There’s hope for the 4 Star yet!