From my friend Tanya, who’s been taking an extended tour of South America:
There’s a Jackson look-a-like in Chile! His name is Ivan and is a Tour Guide, he took me out to eat fish in Angelmo, fish market in Puerto Montt, Chile.
Rather handsome gentleman, if I do say so myself.
…but you should actually be reading The San Francisco Chronicle’s Culture Blog. I know, I know. But my homeslice Eve Batey is now in charge, and it’s like she grabbed the metaphorical tiller from Captain Hazelwood just in time. Beth Spotswood’s regular Thursday column is a must-read, and today Catherine Bigelow and Tim Ehhalt had a lot of fun trying out “Famous for EssEff” hairstyles on Britney Spears.
I was honored to be invited back to liveblog the 2007 Academy Awards by Edward Champion — once again, by association it’s as close as I’ll ever be to a byline in the New Yorker. You may remember my efforts from last year’s blog (which even got me quoted on Greencine).
So check it out. It’ll be like hosting a bunch of funny friends at your home for an oscar party, but quieter and we won’t leave a mess. I’ve put up my first post. Guess what it is? A roundup!
Casting Extras: Spidey, Pirates, Cops, Jews and Fatties [Oscar 2007 Blog]
Another year, another trip to Austin for South by Southwest Interactive is officially on. I’m arriving Thursday, March 8th and leaving the Wednesday the 14th — once again taking advantage of both free press registration and the hospitality of my old friend Topaz. This year I’m primarily be focusing on online video as part of my NewTeeVee beat. Hope to see you there!
Update: Since Meri Williams won’t be able to make it, I went ahead and put together an upcoming listing for Red’s Indoor Range, and plan to go do some shootin’ Friday night.
Get your mind out of the gutter you perverts! I’m talking about baseball, and, more specifically, the love of my life: The Seattle Mariners. Though, now that I think about it, there is a lot of sweat, leather and grab-assing involved…
This was so embarrasing I had to post it. A select group of thrill seeking nerds gathered at a secret location for a night of Wii boxing. In the battle of the former ‘ist editors, I took Ben to the final minute of the third round, but got KO’d, and apparently it was captured on film by Eddie for GETV. Niall also took me down. As I joked to Irina, “What I need to do is some training. Wii heavy bag, Wii jumprope, Wii jogging…”
My old friend from high school, “OG” Max, emailed from Chicago to recommend Imperial San Francisco by Gray Brechin. With nothing but a lazy Sunday awaiting me, I called City Lights to check if they had a copy and headed on down. Of course, having just gotten a check in the mail from my Grandma (and maybe some tax money from the gubment), I couldn’t help myself and picked up Hollow City by Rebecca Solnit and Susan Schwartzenberg, Reclaiming San Francisco, an anthology put together by City Lights themselves and John Markoff’s What the Dormouse Said.
I tried to make conversation with the helpful woman at City Lights, but after making a conspiratorial joke about Walter Shorenstein and when it fell flat having to explain that I’m a nerd, finally admitted that “I can’t go around accusing the mayor of being an intellectual lightweight if I’m not keeping up on my own research.” She suggested that I might take a look at submitting a thing or two to “Instant City” — making me feel guilty for not picking that off the “San Francisco, Left Coast” shelf, too.
Back to Imperial. It’s a fantasticly holisitic look at geography, history, politics and economy that takes California’s claims on new Arcadia, the 49ers’ appropriation of the title Argonauts and San Francisco’s own aspirations of becoming the Rome of the West and turns them on their heads, pointing to the earth scorching and colonial warfare that has surrounded megalopoli since the dawn of civilization. Of particular interest, which I haven’t gotten to, is the histories of the family dynasties enriched by mining and empowered by corruption that have shaped the myths and the landscape.
While I’m not sure I’m entirely on board with his central thesis, his style is surprisingly engaging for an academic tome, probably owing to his background as a reporter for print and television before getting a PhD from Berkeley in Geography. He’s also working on an Imperial Manhattan for that other city, but what I’m wondering is how he’s going to deal with the rise of Los Angeles after the second world war, eclipsing the light of San Francisco’s western star.
I don’t give a fuck anymore. I’ve been listening to rumors of Gavin’s drinking problem and his womanizing for years now. And I didn’t print shit, because they were just rumors. But now I know that more revelations are on the way — and trust me, booze and married women are the least of the sins I’ve heard Gavin accused of.
Now, understand, I’m most absolutely the last one to judge. And, frankly, I’m not judging. If I’d known that Gavin swung that way in 2003, I would have voted for him. Just on the basis of being a fellow alcoholic love boat. Y’all know damn well that I would have disregarded my agreements with the policy platform put forth by the Gonzalez campaign just to support a fellow libertine three years ago. And, frankly, I still would.
So what’s Gavin still got to hide? All the local fishwraps are alluding to further revelations. And there could only be a few things more salaciously newsworthy to the American hoi polloi than cheating on your best friend with his wife and having a drinking problem — and those things are cocaine, paying for sex and touching another man. What makes me feel like it’s gonna be llello and call girls?
Tux by Barneys New York. Thriftown, $35. Shirt by unknown Daly City designer. Thriftown, $5. Pocket square found hidden in trousers. Thriftown, $0.
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