intellectual properties

nice things that people have said lately

from friends:

“what i like about you is that i feel like when i talk to you i get the truth.”

“i like you because you can dish it, but you can take it too.”

(thx to Adam and Justin for appreciating my personality, which i think others sometimes find off-putting)

re: the scene at yesterday’s Spring Training party-in-the-park

“i think people in San Francisco are better looking than people in LA.  and nicer too!  they actually respond to you when you say hello.” – recent transplant

“wow! everyone here is so happy!  and friendly! people like, wanted to know my name!” -friend dressed in tiger suit after wandering the crowd for a few minutes

dreams of armageddon

thanks to the World Ending May 21st prophecy, and all the associated internet memes this week, last night i dreamed that it happened.  my POV was from somewhere in the north oakland/berkeley hills, and it was a clear night.  then suddenly:  a mushroom cloud and bright orange light from the west, and san francisco was gone. charcoal. obliterated. you would think there would have been more panic in my dream, but there wasn’t.  it was more morbid curiosity, or not unlike going into the hills to watch the 4th of july fireworks.   some time later, a smaller flash of light/explosion, approximated somewhere in berkeley.  even knowing that people i loved had died, i was still unpanicked.  perhaps it was shock.  i don’t remember what i planned to do, only that it seemed beautiful and i was not worried.

i assume this surfacing of the world ending May 21, 2011 calculation is Christian one-upmanship/backlash/backchannel against the “heathen” 2012 prophecy, which i also put no stock in. i mean, i did go to a remote canyon in Sedona, Arizona to Party Like It Was 1999 for Y2K, but that was more because the opportunity presented itself. i didn’t really care if the world ended.

in any case, jokes aside, being as i am, i have been thinking about What If The World Did End Tomorrow? i didn’t do anything different this week. no shopping sprees or sudden forays into hard narcotics, but i did think about the state of my soul. and perhaps from some belief perspectives, this is the sign of a true blind sinner, but i think i’m alright. i do not believe that Jesus Christ is My Savior, but i think he was, whether a fictional figure or a real man, a righteous revolutionary and i’m down with the philosophy of the JC. i’m pretty sure that i have not lied, cheated, or stolen from anyone without asking for forgiveness any time in the recent past, i think my moral compass is compassion-centric, and i believe that i do Good Works and not only avoid but fight against Evil. in short: i believe i have good karma.

i think that’s why in my dream last night i wasn’t worried. because, hey, if the world does end tomorrow, there’s nothing i can do to stop it, and nothing i would’ve done differently about the way i live my life. i mean, i would have DONE some different things, but not changed my philosophy. i think they call this “peace of mind”, and i feel good about that.

win 2 miranda caroligne scarves from kreeya.com

to enter, click through and tag yourself in the facebook photo by next Thursday, May 26

BLACK V fashion event: Saturday May 21 (or: SF Fashion vs. Danielle Steele)

“San Francisco is a great city to raise children, but I was very happy to leave it. There’s no style, nobody dresses up—you can’t be chic there. It’s all shorts and hiking books and Tevas—it’s as if everyone is dressed to go on a camping trip. I don’t think people really care how they look there; and I look like a mess when I’m there, too.” – Danielle Steele, May 7, 2011 in the WSJ

well, MZ. Steele, i think you were hanging with the wrong crowd. perhaps you should have ventured out of your Pacific Heights palace (Spreckels Mansion) and away from the Marina and bourgeoisie once in a while.

San Francisco may have its fair share of REI-worshippers and 24/7 outdoorsy types who wear active gear and/or yoga pants everywhere, all the time, but i’m certainly not one of them and neither are many of my friends. yes, it’s different than new york or paris or milan. yes, we often wear more sensible shoes, because SF ISN’T FLAT. but i digress. i think my photos speak for themselves. and besides…..Danielle Steele dresses like a drag queen. as one Chron commenter wrote:

I can absolutely promise you that in Paris, Danielle Steel (“To all you messes, Danielle bids adieu,” Leah Garchik, May 12) is not chic – rich, yes, chic, no. Chic to the Parisians is simplicity – that means you don’t wear 15 diamond bracelets in the daytime, dress in couture clothing that totally overwhelms you, own 6,000 pairs of $1,000 shoes, wear makeup more suited to your daughter’s age than your own.”

AU CONTRAIRE, this saturday evening there is a FANTASTIC fashion show happening that i encourage any of you interested in the local SF fashion scene to consider: BLACK V:  a night of fashion, dreams and darkness. this fashion show includes some of my own local favorites who design high-end couture. oh, and everything will be BLACK.  so i am very excited.

Black V Fashion Show and Masquerade features established, independent and emerging local fashion designers and boutiques. Black V Fashion Event gives the designers a platform to showcase their designs inspired by the dark side of fashion and still remain chic and stylish.

The event will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at Madrone Studios, a stylish multi-media space in the SOMA district of San Francisco (1417 15th Street.) 6 PM static presentation | 730 PM fashion show.

In its second year, we are incorporating a masquerade to motivate the audience’s participation (READ: Dress in black! Masquerade masks encouraged!) and a pre-show static visual presentation at 6:00PM where guests will be able to see the garments up close on live models (instead of just flying by you on a runway).

Fashion for Fashion: All proceeds of this event ($30 tickets) will be donated to the Fashion Department at City College of San Francisco (501c3 organization). This year, the Department will celebrate the 10th year anniversary of its Fashion Show Production program. This program generates Northern California’s only student-produced fashion event.

FEATURED DESIGNERS:

JAY NICOLAS SARIO | HOMME BY DAHAE KIM | GB SHRIVE| LHC COUTURE | MENK | KEN CHEN SF | PHUONG MY | and CARI BORJA

Accessory: KAATJE DESIGN | GUZEL DESIGN | EUGENE HUANG

SPONSORS:

Hair: Le Burge’t Salon
MakeUp: San Francisco Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology- A Paul Mitchell Partner School
Media Sponsor: Astonish Magazine

MODELS: FORD | CITY | JE | Look |

WITH SUPPORT BY:
Owen Buenaventura | Del Geronimo | Rick Calao @ Simms Ink. | Emily Sims | Gail Ballesteros-Shrive | Shane Stinar | Virginie Suos | Noor Rasheed | David Bui | Janice Bailon | Nazarena Sadati-Bowring | POWDER | Jo de Mars | Pigment Cosmetics | Ty Olson | Joe Yang | Henri Lui | Jean-Pierre Gueguen | James Reid

(facebook event)

summer 2011: warm-up

for years i wondered if my blogging was a result of actually having something to say, or just something to do while sitting at a desk job for 8 hours a day. well, these past few months i’ve not been sitting at my desk job all day every day (shifted to working part time as needed), and i think the lack of posts here answers that question.  it turns out when i’m not stuck spending hours a day in front of a computer i do other things, like read the New Yorker and go for walks, and don’t just sit in front of my laptop. so that is the explanation for lack of posts.  it’s not because i haven’t been doing anything or reading the news or have commentary.  i’m just not as inclined to sit down and write about much if i’m not already at the computer.

moving on: last weekend was super fun. we went to see 2 live shows – Ezra Furman and the Harpoons (with Tristen opening) on thursday night and The Black Angels (with Sleepy Sun opening) on friday. Ezra was great, but he was sick and i think it showed.  always a good show though with great energy from the whole band.  i highly recommend their albums if you love singer/songwriters.  while i dig indie rock, dark and twisted psychedelic rock is higher up there on the list of things that my brain soaks up and rolls around in and enjoys. local SF band Sleepy Sun was a great surprise for an opening, and The Black Angels did not disappoint with their wall of sound. it was a challenge to keep my mind from wandering into the purple haze, but the crowd push from the mosh pit jolted me back every few minutes (who moshes at a psychrock concert? i thought we all just stood around with our eyes closed? people who grew up at gilman street, i’m guessing). + i love falling in love with the people on stage for a minute and that is why i love live music.

a string of birthday parties on saturday, then sunday we went for a hike up our favorite trail in Berkeley and cooked dinner and watched the Babies documentary with friends. while it was fun to watch and beautifully shot, i was slightly underwhelmed by this film. the small controversy when the film came out about whether it was appropriate for children to watch (some mommies thought seeing other babies pooping/peeing/breastfeeding was TMI for their own little ones) was much more interesting to me than the film itself.

and now we are gearing up for spring/summer.  with my new free time – the first summer i’ve had since 1998 that i’m not working full time all season – i have A LOT OF PLANS.  we shall see how many of them come to pass.

things that are for sure:

–Spring Training, this sunday in Joaquin Miller park in Oakland (if the world doesn’t end on Saturday!), because if your summer is a marathon of camping (disco or regular), mountain climbing, all-night escapades, road trips, festivals, and full days of drinking in the park with work days in between, you need to warm up so you don’t hurt yourself. this is a free all day picnic-party. the illustrious obi-j closes the show, but we’ll be there all day.

–spending a long weekend floating on a houseboat flotilla in the Sacramento river in June – i have lived in this state for 12 summers and i almost never get to swim. the Pacific is cold and surly no matter when, and the rivers and lakes are all a drive away. growing up in Michigan with a freshwater pond and/or river every 100 yards, this really makes me crazy sometimes.

–PRICELESS. July 1-4 up in Belden Town.  the best disco campout in the High Sierras for the 6th year in a row.

–Phish in Tahoe August 9 with a hiking/camping weekend beforehand. summer in lake tahoe + phish = guaranteed awesome.

the things that are definite maybe:

–New York City.  sometime before July 31, because i NEED to get to the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met.

–Burning Man. we have tickets. but if something a better use of time/money comes up (like a trip abroad this fall?), this could get bumped.

in the meantime, i plan to continue spending my days biking around town, going to yoga/keeping up the workout routines, and window shopping. and….that’s about it.

summer 2011: are we ready?

fantasy shopping for summer

this bathing suit

+ these shoes

instead i’ll probably be wearing a bikini from target and my old flip flops. but a girl can dream.

Nicole & Whit

Nicole & Whit, originally uploaded by sgoralnick.

.::.bell ringing.::.

all dressed up

for Whit & Nicole’s wedding at city hall

May 6, 2011

an ending

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead

the newscaster pointed out that most of the people gathered in the streets this morning at 2:00am in front of the White House and near the WTC site in NYC were college students, who were approximately 8-11 years old when 9/11 happened. i can’t imagine having grown up with this much fear and terror in this world. lucky, we Americans, that this is only true sometimes and not every day as in some places.

i for one will not be waving a flag in any street, or jumping up and down with applause.  at first i felt very strange that i am of no mind to celebrate. i felt alienated, watching the news and seeing people cheer virtually on facebook and twitter. even Obama seemed to be smirking in his television address last night. but i do not feel joy or relief or accomplishment.  this has been a horrible 10 years of this story of death and war and terror and fear, and while this may be a step toward peace, no one who died comes back. i feel like a sad chapter has come to an end. like the feeling after watching the end to a terribly sad film.

‎”Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

and from my friend Alison:

The angels of God were reprimanded for singing hallelujah when the Red Sea closed on the Egyptians. “My children are drowning and you sing praises?” God cried.

(it is interesting that in the Christian versions of the Exodus, i find nothing of this idea of compassion for the Egyptians, only Moses’ song of victory, which is often quoted (Exodus 15), but it is clearly discussed in Hebrew scriptures.)