Nell
Posted: November 29th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Pacific Heights | Tags: Pacific Heights | No Comments »
On Broadway
Pacific Heights
Saturday afternoon
***
Giving thanks to a year in SF
Having lived in major cities for the last 10 years, I was surprised at my initial trepidation about riding the MUNI. The 19 and the 47 are my lines. Today, I appreciate them because they get me from here to there and everywhere in between with a little bit of flare, if you will, but in those first few rides I distinctly remember my shoulders at my ears and a look of confused horror that was most assuredly ill-masked by my please-don’t-notice-me-I’m-just-sitting-here-minding-my-own-business face. Thanks, MUNI, you really make this town feel like a city.
~~~
I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of concerts in great little venues all over the city, but none has outdone The Very Best at The Independent – that concert was the most fun, happy, upbeat show I’ve seen. This crowd was out to beat the Sunday blues, and, if you ask me, it was Esau Mwamwaya’s smile that did it. His grin stole the show…but I guess it was his to steal in the first place. Thanks, Independent music booking guy/gal, you picked a good one!
~~~
I looked at 48 apartments in SF before I settled on my current place. Every time I turned a corner there was a new neighborhood I wanted to live in and a new block that I adored. You could say I lacked focus – just a little. In that month of searching, I couch-surfed in Nob Hill, Bernal Heights, Berkeley, the Outer Mission, and Pacific Heights. Finally the hunt ended. With the ink barely dry on my lease, I rolled my suitcase and a borrowed air mattress into my apartment and gratefully crashed in my new, albeit empty, home. Thanks, San Francisco, for having so many great, livable neighborhoods…but seriously you nearly drove me crazy.
~~~
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know one of the candidates for SF School Board. Donating, volunteering, and generally spreading the word has made me feel a part of the SF community in a new and deeply rooted way. Thanks, Natasha, for fighting for San Francisco’s kids. There truly is no more important work out there.
~~~
The ongoing struggle of being 3,000 miles away from my family (except for one!) is eased – just a little – by my SF family of friends. I am so grateful for this group of fabulous people that I have gotten to know so well. Each one of them has made living here so much fun. Hiking, biking, cooking, talking, drinking, laughing, eating, exploring, lounging, celebrating…and there are more and more good times ahead. Thanks, friends, for being awesome.
~~~
My brother, visiting from Boston, had the pleasure of an impromptu 360 degree tour of the Golden Gate Bridge in all of its red, iconic grandeur. Twin Peaks. There’s the bridge! Crissy Field. Look, there’s the bridge! Coastal Trail. Oh! The bridge! Cavallo Point. Did you see the bridge?! Fillmore Street. Look at the bridge! Thanks, brother, for your patience. Next time we’ll broaden your SF horizons. Bay Bridge!
~~~
And finally, a special shout out goes to the California Pacific Medical Center for ensuring that my left index finger will remain intact despite a nasty and absolutely ridiculous run-in with a blender. Thanks, CPMC!
I do in fact live here in SF, and I’m looking forward to another great year…just with fewer stitches and more cabs, please! Thanks!
***
Just a reminder: the I Live Here:SF show at SOMArts will be no more! Please join us at the Closing Night Reception on Tuesday, November 30 from 5-7pm.
If you haven’t seen the show yet, that’s your last chance! Hope to see you there.
~Julie
+++
More photoshoots and stories will resume in December!
You know you want it.
Posted: November 24th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
***
The bus shelter, I mean.
The 30-Stockton bus shelter has been a highlight of my show at SOMArts this month. When I found out that I was going to be able to have a retrospective of my work at SOMArts, one of the first things I envisioned was having a bus shelter in the gallery. It took merely hours to make that happen, thanks to Eugenia and Jeff of the Muni Diaries, and the people at SFMTA.
And now the show is almost over *snif* and the shelter needs to go to a good home.
Check the post at Muni Diaries to find out how you can make this true SF gem your own.
UPDATE: Check out Muni Diaries poll to see who will win this shelter… the winner will be announced at the closing night reception on 11/30.
ps. And don’t forget to come to the closing night reception at SOMArts next week, to help me say goodbye to this wonderful collection of portraits and stories! Bring your friends.
Closing Reception: Tuesday, November 30, 5-7pm
SOMArts, 934 Brannan Street
Miquel
Posted: November 22nd, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: The Tenderloin | Tags: The Tenderloin | 3 Comments »
On the fire escape, Sutter Street
The Tenderloin
Saturday afternoon
***
Given the typical residential expiration date of 2-3 years for most people, I find the concept of a San Francisco “native” arbitrary to say the least. My great-grandfather died here (on Clementina Street) and my father ran about Dolores Park as a child, long before skinny jeans were the de facto uniform of foot cart purveyors. From time to time, I remember that I have an ancestral cloud of aunts and uncles lurking just out of view, south of the San Bruno Mountains. My Old World family members are undoubtedly disappointed in the amount of time I waste blogging and tending the basil that grows on my fire escape “garden.”
My father and mother went “back-to-the-land”, running away from San Francisco to hide out in the hinterlands of Northern California. This of course meant that instead of growing up saying that Cable Cars are “just for tourists,” I was on a farm butchering cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens—the hayseed in the mouth was purely for weekends. It was only once college came about, that I moved back to the Bay area and ended up staying for what is now going on 13 years. But, I still don’t feel like a native. I’m just a resident with agrarian baggage.
I live here because San Francisco pisses me off in a harmonious manner. I mean, let’s face it, any place that you absolutely love, you get bored of and leave in oh… about 2-3 years. San Francisco has the wonderful dynamic of being able to present you with a dinner that should be knighted, which is then followed by an hour wait for a Muni train that ultimately never comes. It’s the “bullshit tide” that keeps the city fully alive and habituated no matter what happens outside her city limits.
Being a California native has made me far too soft to consider moving somewhere else like New York, and defecting to Portland, Oregon just seems like it would be the penultimate San Francisco migratory cliché. I’m not nearly good looking enough to move to Los Angeles and not nearly bored enough to move to Sacramento. Sure, one day I’ll leave San Francisco, but that will be to leave the country completely. While I sit here getting pissy about my downstairs neighbor’s rave music and the inane chatter of art students outside, I realize that right here and now, this is my city dammit. All the rest of you can pay a toll to visit.
***
Miquel writes at The Tenderblog
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Read Miquel’s personal blog: http://www.hudin.com
Miquel also did the redesign of this site for new masthead image.
Live and In Person! Saturday at SOMArts, 2-4pm
Posted: November 19th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
from Rick Prelinger’s Lost Landscapes of San Francisco Vol. 4, now playing in the video annex as part of the I Live Here:SF show @ SOMArts
***
One of the best parts of doing this photo/portrait project has been the exposure to the incredible array of talent and stories and experience that my subjects have to share. When I found that I had been accepted at SOMArts as the first recipient of their Commons Curatorial Grant, my thought was how I could bring as many of these people to meet a new audience? Several events were planned, besides, the opening and closing receptions, to take advantage of this wealth of true San Franciscan character.
An extremely special part of this exhibit has been the constant screening in the video annex, generously provided by film archivist Rick Prelinger. His amazing montages of collected ephemeral films, the Lost Landscapes of San Francisco series, generally can only be seen for one or two night a year. I have felt extremely fortunate that Rick has so graciously given his most recent film to be seen and enjoyed during the entire month that I Live Here:SF is installed in the main gallery at SOMArts. The film plays continuously so you can watch it for as long as you like.
What’s even better is that Rick will be speaking about his work this Saturday, November 20 in the main gallery, as part of a panel. I am thrilled to have you all visit the gallery, and hear Rick and the other panelists talk about their personal San Francisco, what they’re doing now and you can ask them questions and get to know them.
Also scheduled to present are Mark Bitter, whom you’ll remember as the subject of the wonderful documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, cyclist/fashionista/coffee expert Meli of Bikes and the City, community advocates who work in a variety of places in the city and with diverse populations: Colleen, Valerie, Morgan and Jose-Luis, and even National Yo-Yo champion Joseph Harris. I hope Wardell the Wonder will make an appearance and talk about his car, the Star One.
All in all, it should be a great afternoon. I hope you can join us, and please, bring a friend!
Date: Saturday, November 20, 2-4pm in the Main Gallery
SOMArts
934 Brannan Street
***
Fun House photo from the Exploratorium site.
Jonathan and Linda
Posted: November 17th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: The Tenderloin | Tags: The Tenderloin | No Comments »
Linda, with I Live Here:SF subject Jonathan, at the Kum Bak Club on Ellis (now closed).
***
I met Linda while walking with local TL poet Jonathan Hirsch. You can read his poem about the TL—and this bar—here: julieliveshere.com/?p=617
Jonathan (founder of the Tenderloin Reading Series) will be teaching a free poetry seminar on Thursday night (11/18) at SOMArts as part of the I Live Here:SF project writing workshop (also in conjunction with playwright Nirmala Nataraj and novelists Matt Stewart and Tony duShane).
Please join us: www.somarts.org/2010/11/14/i-live-here-sf-writing-workshop/
Mik
Posted: November 16th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Treasure Island | Tags: Treasure Island | 5 Comments »
Treasure Island
Saturday morning
***
San Francisco is not my be all end all. It’s not my utopia. I love it, sure, but I love it the way you love your problem child sibling. It feels weird to feel that way about the city when so many people I know can’t imagine living anywhere else. It feels selfish and disrespectful to think that way because it means so much to so many people. San Francisco was never some dream I had because it was always there, across the water. When I was a child it meant baseball; in high school, protests; in college, nightlife. I loved it and I hated it – but in ways different from how I do now.
It’s like when you’re dating a really cute boy, with whom you share some similar interests, but the personalities just don’t quite line up correctly. You date for a while and you enjoy your time together and you truly care about each other, but at the end of the day you know it will never last. San Francisco is my fling. I will not be growing old with it. And that’s fine. Flings help you learn about yourself and grow and change.
My family’s been dancing around the idea of living here for the past century or so, dancing around it – mind you – so my lack of commitment may be genetic. The first to come through were my paternal grandmother’s parents. They hailed from an isolated village up in the hills, maybe an hour west of Genoa. My bisnonno took one look at the place, decided that buildings that close together had to be prone to fire, and spent the next decade bumping around Northern California before settling in Arizona.
His sister and her husband left Italy after the First World War and settled on Fulton Street, in a place my grandmother described as being, “near Divisadero, across the street from some park.” In the late 30’s, a young family friend came to live with them so he could go to school – my grandfather. While studying in San Francisco, he was involved in a cable car accident that cost him the better part of his leg. So it goes.
I’ve always felt the pull of the patria, the old country, and it’s not hard to see why I would. I spent my junior year living in Bologna, traveling constantly up and down the peninsula, spending time with relatives, and friends, and strangers. It was home and so much so that I almost didn’t come back to California. My grand plan was to somehow, someway, find a way to live in Napoli.
One of my friends knew I was stuck on this. “What do you love about Naples?” she asked, one day – no doubt tired of my whining. I rattled off twenty overly descriptive and romanticized details. She shot me an I-know-you-don’t-want-to-hear-this-but-I’m-going-to-say-it-anyway look. “In a lot of ways, it sounds like San Francisco. The ocean, the dense urban landscape, the traffic, MUNI’s inability to be on time, the hills for days, amazing food, interesting people. It’s outrageous. It’s chaotic. Plus, you can have Asian food here. And burritos.”
I wrote it off. Because I’m an East Bay girl, dammit, and that city took my grandpa’s leg and its baseball team broke my heart more times than I can count. But time drew on and I started spending more time here. Slowly at first, then to the point that every weekend for months on end I was in the city, some way or another. And I started paying attention. And I started learning.
I know that microclimates are nothing short of a gift to fog-haters. I know that magenta suede trespassing shoes can get you into trouble as quickly as a smile can get you out. I know that there is nothing that makes a Sunday morning better than fresh bread from Acme. I know that wearing a dress while riding a bike does not make you a hipster, much to my delight. I know that there is no place as special as a bay window. I know that there are bars where I can order a martini and not have to worry if they’ll ask me what kind of vodka I want or fear for bottom-shelf vermouth. I know that dating here isn’t quite as harrowing as everyone seems to think it is, and – if nothing else – leaves you with funny stories. I know that I can’t rely on MUNI, but I can hope like hell that it will be my pal every now and then. I know that autumn is the best season, but spring comes close. I know that I can satisfy some small part of my wanderlust by going to different neighborhoods and listening to different languages.
I know that I can stay here, and love the city – for all that it is and all that it isn’t – and be happy. And at the end of the day, there’s not much more I can ask for than that.
***
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Her portfolio: in fondo al mare
We want you back.
Posted: November 15th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
I Live Here:SF participants Bianca and Wardell. Photo by Christina Alva.
This week we have a few great events in conjunction with the I Live Here:SF retrospective at SOMArts (934 Brannan Street). All of these events will take place in the main gallery, and are free to the public. Please join us for one or all… we look forward to seeing you! Mark your calendar and bring your friends!
Wednesday, November 17: Muni Time Capsule and Happy Hour!
5-8pm
Muni is a big part of our urban history — nowhere else in San Francisco do so many people of different stripes get together in one space. Come and be a part of recording our urban history.
For one night, SOMArts will become a space for you to record your own Muni story for a digital story capsule. We will be on hand to record your story, whether it’s audio, video, text, or art, in the Muni Diaries story booth — under a real Muni shelter, no less! Your stories will be collected on a new page we’ll be unveiling on Muni Diaries soon.
It’s also called Muni Time Capsule, a treasure trove of photos, schedules, maps, stories (we hope!), and ephemera from Muni days gone by. This night is presented by the Main Gallery as a component to the I Live Here:SF exhibition, in collaboration with MuniDiaries.com. Silvi Alcivar of The Poetry Store will be on site as well to write custom poetry.
About the event leaders, Eugenia Chien and Jeff Hunt from Muni Diaries: Eugenia and Jeff are the founders and editors of Muni Diaries, a website where riders share tales from life on the bus. Muni Diaries documents urban life through the lens of public transportation. The site was voted Best Local Blog by the readers of the San Francisco Bay Guardian in 2009 and was be featured by the Commonwealth Club in March 2010 in the “San Francisco’s New Media” panel. The San Francisco Weekly called Muni Diaries “the best alternative model of civic journalism.”
Thursday, November 18: Writing Workshop
5-7pm
Unwind, and get your creative juices flowing! Join us for I Live Here: SF‘s Writing Workshop. Hone in on your writing skills through poetry, playwriting and fiction, as you work directly with Julie Michelle and I Live Here:SF participants: playwright Nirmala Nataraj, poet Jonathan Hirsch, and novelists Matt Stewart and Tony duShane.
Don’t forget your notebook and pen!
Saturday, November 20: Uncommon Cultures
2-4pm
This event will feature Julie Michelle in conversation with a panel of diverse I Live Here:SF subjects. Film archivist Rick Prelinger will discuss his film Lost Landscapes of San Francisco Vol. 4, which is currently showing in the gallery, as well as the Prelinger Archive and its many wonderful collection of ephemeral films and historic media.
Tuesday, November 30: Closing Night Reception
5-7pm
If you couldn’t make it for the opening night, or just couldn’t get enough… come for one last visit to the wonderful collection of images from the I Live Here:SF project in the main gallery. Silvi Alcivar of The Poetry Store will be on site to create custom poems our own indoor 30-Stockton Muni bus shelter.
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And last, but certainly not least, I want to give a huge shout-out and ginormous thank you to Miquel Hudin (aka 50% of the supertalented ) for helping with the redesign and new masthead on this site, yeah! And also to David of Wizdom on Wheels, for creating the wonderful image you see at the top of the page. They are great resources, if you need IT help, CSS tweaking or Photoshop magic… good people to know!
Gail
Posted: November 11th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Fort Point | Tags: Fort Point | 6 Comments »
Fort Point
Sunday morning
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This is MY city – its part of my persona, my roots! Historically, my family (I’m fourth generation) has been part of the fabric of San Francisco, contributing to banking, commerce, medicine, culture and the arts, and philanthropy. My great-grandmother lived in a Victorian house at the corner of Gough and Clay. My grandparents lived on the last block of Broadway near the Presidio, where I lived as an infant during WWII when my father served as a medic in the US Navy stationed in Fiji. My parents lived on Jackson Street in Presidio Heights for 60 years. And, I have lived (with my husband and raised two children) in the Marina for 31 years. I used to meet my grandmother under the Clock at the St. Francis hotel for lunch in the 1950s – I wore white gloves and dressed up. I remember going to Playland at the Beach and sliding down the huge wooden slide at the Fun House. And, swimming at Sutro Baths (where one had to rent an ugly, scratchy bathing suit) and Fleishhacker Pool, which was so large that one could drown without anyone seeing.
I walked on the Golden Gate bridge on the 50th anniversary with my family and heard tales of my aunt driving on the bridge on the opening day in 1937. I grew up with a view of the Golden Gate bridge and now walk from the Marina Green to Ft. Point many times each week. It is my anchor. Whenever I come home from Marin or the south, east, and west ends of the City and see the bridge come into view, I know I’m where I belong.
I published a children’s book (Frankie & The Phoenix) illustrated by my husband, Dr. Marc Goldyne, based on the true story of how the SFFD’s fireboat, Phoenix, along with S.F.’s unique portable hydrant system saved the Marina after the quake of 1989. Of course, the cover of the book (www.sfphoenix.com) has a drawing of the Golden Gate bridge with the anthropomorphized characters Phoenix (the fireboat) and Frankie (portable hydrant named after its inventor, Frank Blackburn). This is our gift to the City we love.
Currently, I’m co-chair of a project to build a monument on the Marina seawall (adjacent to the Marina Green) to commemorate the the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It will honor the fireboat Phoenix, the SFFD, and the NERT program (neighborhood emergency response team), as well as educate the public about disaster preparedness. The website is: www.meqm.org
***
Sara
Posted: November 9th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: The Marina | Tags: The Marina | 4 Comments »
Inside the Community Garden, Fort Mason
The Marina
Friday afternoon
***
When I first moved here after living in Los Angeles for ten years, I wasn’t so sure about leaving the sun and the beach. Upon arriving in the Bay Area, I lived in the East Bay, way out there off the 680. While I enjoyed the sunshine, I’m not cut out for suburbia. I was struck by an overwhelming sense of relief every time I would drive over the Bay Bridge and see the skyline of the Financial District. I moved to the city in early 2009 on rather short notice and only spent 2 days looking at apartments. I had apartment criteria that were not neighborhood specific, like having a garage and being close to a shuttle stop for work. I ended up in the Marina without knowing the reputation it has as a bit of a party neighborhood. Despite occasionally having to dodge post-brunch ex-frat boys on Sunday mornings while walking down Chestnut, I love my neighborhood. It makes me immensely happy to be near the water, and the views of Golden Gate and Alcatraz don’t hurt either.
Shortly after moving to the city, I got the idea stuck in my head that I wanted to run from my apartment across the Golden Gate Bridge. I’m not entirely sure where this idea came from. While I was an athlete through college, I am in no way a runner. In fact, I’ve spent most of my life trying to get out of running. I spent quite a few weeks building up the mileage to feel ready to tackle the bridge. I severely underestimated how far it was, by about 2 miles, but I managed to make it there and back undamaged, other than having some bad blisters.
After my success with the bridge, I decided to enter some races as motivation to exercise and get outside more. I’d done a few races in the past, but not too seriously. I started doing all sorts of races around the city- the SF Half Marathon, the Treasure Island Triathlon, the Alcatraz swim, Bay to Breakers. Most of my friends think I’ve gone crazy, but I’m hooked. I spend more money at Sports Basement than any other store, and my apartment is now filled with various types of gear from bikes lining the wall to wetsuits hanging in the shower. Thanks to the free food at work, my pantry is filled almost exclusively with Gu packs, Clif bars, and Cytomax. More than one friend has pointed out that this may not be the smartest dating tactic, but I’m ok with that. Exploring the city on foot or two wheels has become my favorite way to discover new neighborhoods, stumble upon impromptu gatherings, and take in the beauty of the city by the bay that has become my home.
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Opening Night Recap
Posted: November 8th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
From the opening night reception. Photo by Brandon Downey.
The month-long retrospective got off to a great start on Friday night at SOMArts! Thank you to all of you who attended, with over 600 people visiting SOMArts to enjoy the photos and stories, meet each other, and eat some great food. It was an amazing turnout and I’m so grateful to all of you who came to celebrate the beginning of this show installed in the main gallery.
Here are the details for those of you who would like to visit the show again, or who couldn’t make the Friday night reception. I hope you can make time to visit the gallery soon.
Exhibition: November 5 – November 30, 2010
Closing reception: November 30, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Friday 12:00 – 7:00 pm, Saturday 12:00 – 5:00 pm
There will be some free workshops offered in the next few weeks in conjunction with this show. I’ll be posting information about these classes as soon as they are available.
Here are some great recent blog posts written by others who attended the reception: , , John Marcher, and Donald Kinney. If you have a post to share, please let me know and I’ll add your links here.
If you have photos from the Friday night opening reception, please share your links in the comments below. I’d love to see what you saw that night! And for some thoughts on the night’s events, please check out my post on julieliveshere.com. I’ll be visiting the gallery often, so I hope to see you there. Drop me a note or email me if you plan to stop by!
