Ingrid's San Francisco Blog

San Francisco in 2008 isn't quite the Barbary Coast (for better or worse). But the city will host a few Tall Ships and a Pirate Academy next week when the Parade of Sail -- through the Golden Gate -- starts the five-day Festival of Sail. Here's what's happening:

• Wednesday, July 23 (10am): Parade of Sail - 32 Tall Ships Sail Under the Golden Gate Bridge
• July 23 to July 27: Festival of Sail - Tall Ship tours, festival events, three festival villages, pirate academy, mock cannon battles and day sails

The parade is free from any vantage point along the Marin Headlands, San Francisco waterfront, or any view point of the Golden Gate Bridge. A schedule of daily events is available at the Festival of Sail website.

Additional details - Festival of Sail:

• The three Festival of Sail villages will be at: AT&T Park (Green Village), Ferry Building (International Sail Village), and Pier 43-1/2 (Marine Educational Village)
• Purchase Boarding Passes online for one of three villages, which will feature several vessels and other maritime-history highlights ($10 to $20)
• Board the Red and White Fleet Water Taxi to connect between the three villages. Book online ($16) for a full day pass

Related Articles:

• Barbary Coast Trail - Photo Tour
• San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Photos)
• Profile of Red and White Fleet's SF Explorer Cruise

^{Image Courtesy of Festival of Sail}

From San Francisco's Aquatic Park to West Berkeley's paved roads -- to our local airports and the myriad WPA murals -- a network of New Deal projects underlies a significant portion of our public infrastructure, largely unnoticed.

The Living New Deal Project formed in an effort to document the legacy of these works, and to make public and visible the grand heritage we owe to the policies and agencies of FDR's New Deal.

The Living New Deal Project celebrates this year (the 75th anniversary of Roosevelt's inaugural address of 1933) with multimedia presentations, a book, an online database, exhibits, public presentations and more. You can also see a map of New Deal projects throughout the Bay Area.

An additional nod to the New Deal . . . LaborFest 2008 celebrates the 75th anniversary with a month's worth of programs, films and city tours on the subject. This weekend's events include: a boat tour on the topic of "building bridges and labor maritime history," and a tour of the Redstone Building (formerly the San Francisco Labor Temple) in the Mission District. See the full LaborFest schedule here.

More Resources:

• Living New Deal Project
• LaborFest 2008 Event Schedule
• Photos of WPA Murals at Coit Tower
• Photos of WPA Murals at Rincon Center Postal Annex
• Overview of Bloody Thursday in San Francisco

^{WPA Mural at Beach Chalet - San Francisco
Photo © Ingrid Taylar}

Does a service like GottaPark encourage more driving in San Francisco? I've heard that argument, but it doesn't necessarily sway me. Unless you absolutely have to drive, why would you even consider paying 50 or 100 bucks (in some cases) to lease someone's driveway? That said, if you're driving anyway, GottaPark offers an alternative to circling the block. Or hitching rides because you don't want to lose your spot.

Here's how it works. If you need a place to park at a specific time, plug those variables into the GottaPark search form and it will render a list of commercial and residential spots available for the buying. If you have a spot, a driveway, a garage -- you're free to post the availability for others to rent.

Check it out in person: GottaPark.com.

Public Transit Resources:

• Hop Stop Trip Planner
• Muni Metro Map
• San Francisco Neighborhood Map

^{"No Parking" Art on San Francisco Garage
Photo © Ingrid Taylar}

Most recent 2008 California fire updates now posted in these documents:

• General Fire Information
• Big Sur Fires 2008: How to Help
• Butte County Fires 2008: How to Help

Specials thanks to photographer Robert A. Eplett of the California Office of Emergency Services, for the Butte County fire images used here and in the referenced articles.

If you know the name Stephanie Coburtle, then you've already had an introduction to the concept of TOPP.org. Coburtle was an endangered leatherback turtle and namesake of Stephen Colbert. She was part of the Great Turtle Race -- an ongoing, online tracking project bringing awareness to the plight of leatherback turtles. Coburtle's GPS tag stopped transmitting, inspiring a flurry of worries at the Colbert boards.

TOPP.org is the place to be if you're interested in tracking the Stephanie Coburtles of the sea. TOPP is the acronym for Tagging of Pacific Predators. Visitors to the site follow the progress of GPS-tagged predators -- sharks, seals, turtles -- as they move to nesting grounds or forage in the great deep.

On a local level TOPP.org has a page devoted to our resident California elephant seals. The page details the tagging process and traces their journeys to and from Año Nuevo. You can also check in on Omoo, a juvenile white shark tagged at Monterey Bay Aquarium who -- at the time of this posting -- is doing his shark thing near Honolulu.

(For a different type of wildlife tracking, take a look at this post by Laura Klappenbach (About.com:Animals) about a new method which eliminates the stress and duress of capturing and tagging.)

If you missed the Mystery in Alaska episode of Nature on KQED, check it out. The focus is on the declining numbers of Stellar's sea lions, but the greater thesis of the show is how our actions dramatically affect the balance of finely-tuned ecosystems. Projects like TOPP.org help bring these issues home by intimately linking us with the threatened and endangered animals who depend upon us for some consciousness and wisdom in our stewardship.

^{Pictured: Elephant Seal
Photo © Mike Baird / BairdPhotos.com}

Disclaimer: I'm posting this event simply because I like beer. There's educational and cultural value, I'm sure. And I happen to enjoy the offerings of the Commonwealth Club. But the truth is, I worked for an innovative beer importer years ago, and I'm sure my genotype now includes some hops and barley DNA. It's an unavoidable affiliation.

Now that's out of the way -- The Belgians Are Here is a panel and tasting at the offices of the Commonwealth Club. And the presenters are some of our local Trappist-Ale experts:

• Michael Azzalini: Owner, La Trappe
• Christian Albertson: Owner, Monk's Kettle
• Sinead Carey: Area Sales Manager, Star Brand Imports
• Rick Mitchell: Owner, Luka's
• Bruce Paton: Beer Chef, Cathedral Hotel
• Aaron Porter: Owner, The Trappist

You'll learn what Father Theodore and the Belgian monks have known all along. (They know quite a bit, actually.)

The event is on Thursday, July 17 at the Commonwealth Club office (595 Market Street, 2nd Floor). It begins at 5:45p, with a 5:15p check in. A beer-and-cheese tasting follows at 6:45p. The price is $32 (or $20 for members and students).

Related Resources:

• [The Late] Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter
• Beer Styles 101 (About.com: Beer)
• Essential Cheese Types (About.com: Cheese)
• San Francisco Cheese Shops
• Profile of the Commonwealth Club

^{Photo © Bala/Flickr Creative Commons}

On Tuesday, Red Hill Books hosts a look and a listen -- a presentation of San Francisco's labor history, rooted in the neighborhood of Bernal Heights and in the strong labor lineage of San Francisco. If you're new to the Bay Area, you may not realize what a workers' tale the streets of San Francisco harbor.

The Red Hill Books event is part of the month-long Labor Fest which launches each year on the anniversary of Bloody Thursday.

In attendance at Red Hill Books will be folklorist Archie Green, editor of the Big Red Songbook. The Songbook is a compilation of Little Red Songbooks -- the musical legacy of the International Workers of the World (IWW) or Wobblies, of which Mother Jones was a founder.

Bernal Heights Preservation members Molly Martin and Terry Milne will also show historical pictures looking at the long tradition of labor activism in Bernal, starting from the 1907 Carmen's Strike, or streetcar strike (Carmen referring to the union of streetcar workers).

It's too rich and complex for a simple blog, but if you're interested in this cultural pedigree of San Francisco, attend the Red Hill presentation or any of the events happening throughout July in the context of LaborFest.

• Red Hill Books Event:
  Tuesday, July 15 at 6:30p
  401 Cortland Avenue (at Bennington)
  Bernal Heights - San Francisco
  Tel: (415) 648-5331

Check out additional LaborFest films, readings and happenings at the official LaborFest 2008 website.

Archival Footage from San Francisco General Strike

^{Video Courtesy of Prelinger Archives -Creative Commons/Public Domain}

Related Resources:

• A Brief Look at Bloody Thursday
• 10 Best Labor Songs (About.com: Folk Music) *
• All About the IWW (IWW Website)

^{* Some labor songs were not expressly endorsed by early IWW members, due to philosophical differences between IWW and other groups}

I ride just about every Bay Area transit system, most frequently Muni and BART. As such, I carry a Muni pass, a BART EZ Rider card, cash, change, and a Translink card -- and I try not to de-magnetize or mutilate any of them.

As you probably know, Translink is the card that holds the greatest promise: a fully-linked Bay Area transit system. No more multiple passes, transfers, exact change -- especially if you regularly go beyond the bounds of San Francisco proper.

And yet, it's been a significant wait for those of us who see the unfulfilled potential every time we pull the Translink out of the wallet.

Right now, Translink is official on AC Transit (East Bay) and on Golden Gate Transit. You've probably seen the pilot readers at some Muni stations, too. There's a test roll-out this summer and hope for full public usage soon on Muni. BART and other agencies are expected to follow in 2008 and through 2009.

For now, you can order a Translink card and use it where readers are available. Of course, with every Translink, FasTrak and scannable convenience also comes the paperless transit trail. And somehow I doubt Translink readers can debit your card through a static-shield bag.

• How to Get and Use the Translink Card
• Information on Muni Passes & Muni Maps
• Overview of San Francisco Muni & Transit

^{Photo © Ingrid Taylar}

July 4 marked the premiere of the San Francisco Mime Troupe's show, Red State. And by mime, we mean theatrical exaggeration -- not a silent mime in a box prison.

San Francisco Mime Troupe has been performing since 1959, in various incarnations. Red State is in keeping with the troupe's canon of political satire. It's a musical with an election-year theme: a story about a small town in a red state that becomes the focus of an Electoral College tie when the voting machines report no votes whatsoever.

The next San Francisco performance is on Sunday, July 13 at Yerba Buena Gardens. After that, the troupe takes the show on tour, from Berkeley to Palo Alto to Fort Bragg.

The performance itself begins at 2:00pm but the music starts at 1:30p for early arrivals. Oh, and it's free.

• San Francisco Mime Troupe Website
• Yerba Buena Gardens Information

^{Image courtesy of San Francisco Mime Troupe}

There are enough city sites/blogs/writers churning out a constant stream of cynicism -- which is appreciated, I cannot lie. But, I'm man enough to admit I still love this town, and the independent spirit that fights to survive in a world gone homogeneous and corporate.

I write this on the eve of a San Francisco original -- the Frozen Film Festival. It's a local indie fest of music and film with a mission to screen films "made by people without an overflowing Rolodex and 3-picture deal."

One of those screenings is the California premiere of Nerdcore for Life (Saturday, July 12). It's a documentary appropos of the vibrant nerdcore/geeksta rap scene happening in the Bay Area.

Director Dan Lamoureux came to nerdcore by way of an mc chris performance in Chicago. Nerdcore -- the geeks' claim to hip hop -- is now mainstream enough that you may have read pieces in Newsweek and the New York Times. If not, check out the press links at the Nerdcore for Life website for an entertaining intro to the artists who rap about their techno lives, Vulcan neck pinches, Egon Spengler and Dr. Venkman.

The great Roxie Theater hosts the premiere on Saturday afternoon at 4:15p. Get advance tickets through TicketWeb. Following the film, there's a Q&A with director Lamoureux and several of the film's featured performers. There's also a free after party (details below).

More information on the Frozen Film Festival and Nerdcore for Life:

• San Francisco Frozen Film Festival Website
• Nerdcore for Life Website
• Roxie Theater Screening Information
• Free After Party at 7p: At The Double Dutch, 3192 16th St, just down the street from the Roxie

^{Image Courtesy of Nerdcore for Life}