The Garage Sale Blog Network

Our love for the raw

The signs are all around us.  It's happening in advertising, the media, and it's happening to me.  We all have a soft spot for pure unadulterated content and entertainment. 

I was having breakfast today at the Dolores Park Cafe when my friend left to go to the bathroom.  Let's just imagine the next five minutes of this experience as two different radio stations that were on opposite sides of the dial but for whatever odd reason complimented each other very well. 

First radio station one (850 AM): Aahh serenity...the view of twin peaks, birds chirping, tennis balls being hit to and fro by the cute old couple across the street in Dolores park.

Radio Station two (92.7 FM)  It was then that I overheard the 310 lbs, 6'3", tattooed up the kazoo man comment to his friend "you know...I mean I need a sponsor that's been pipe hitting with the mafia, that's waken up in whore houses trashed and confused, that's buried 36 of his friends like I have".

850AM: School kids playing on the slide...the tap tappity tap tap of people typing on their laptops, latte scents permeating the air.

92.7FM: "I mean I've been doing dope since I was 11.  I know shit that no one wants to know.  I've got some supreme knowledge man.  I mean my girlfriend knows all about common sense...I don't know shit about that man. 

850AM: A soft wind caresses my face.

92.7FM: "That's why I want Jaime as my sponsor.  He's talking about Buddhism and merging with Zen.  He told me about the journey to the edge of the precipice, the jump off and the realization that he had jumped way before he ever got to the precipice. 

It was at this point that my friend and I were ready to leave.  The least I could do was tell the guy "you know I eavesdrop on a lot of conversations but this has to be one of the best ever.  Thanks man."  And it was back to 850AM.

Blazing saddles

Twenty five.  Quarter century.  I'm not a rock star or underground conscious hip hop lime lighter.  I push the comedic envelopes but my only stage is center living room at house parties.  I feel sometimes I relate more to melodramatic movies than reality yet the reality is casting calls aren't calling. 

I suppose I feel it's time to put a big bullet point on my life resume.  Not HTML skills or keyword marketing but a stitch that is recognizable for generations and generations.  You know like riding a horse across the plains and making fires and making friends with coyotes named Henry.  Or spending time in the mountains with Indians communicating through the bodily movements that come natural in tee pee sweat sessions.

The cement I'm using to lay the foundation for these goals consists largely in my surrounding social dynamics.  I mean in a learning context college courses were ancillary to what I got from the broad spectrum of ideas and viewpoints expressed by friends and acquaintances.  The same applies to my life post college.  San Francisco is a fertile field of ideas.   I'm just trying to get the best crop without pesticides (i.e. work overload, fatigue, monotony). 

Blogger's Block

Due to my blogger's block of content rich posts I will resort to thoughts and epiphanies I have while driving until I get my mojo back.  I was crossing the bay bridge yesterday and observing the sunset by the golden gate bridge and realized that no matter how many times I saw the exact same shot in a post card it just cannot equate to the real view.  This should be fairly obvious.  However I think it's sort of like getting sick of a song you are constantly hearing on your Ipod or cd player but if it comes on the radio suddenly it gains some sort of refreshing, rejuvenating vibe. 

Noe Valley

In the interest of blog posts pertaining to the SF Bay Area I figured I'd write one for my part of town: Noe Valley.  I've taken it upon myself to insert a sign that you can see when entering the neighborhood that says "Welcome to Noe Valley! The walking your dog or baby while carrying a yoga mat capital of the world". 

You know you're from San Francisco when....

Had this forwarded to me from a friend...some of these are right on...

You've been carrying on an affair of "intense eye-contact" for two years with a person who rides home on the same bus and gets off one stop before you. You do not know their name.

You bitch constantly about how hard it is to meet people in the city.

You take a bus and are shocked that 2 people are carrying on a conversation in English.

Someone says TENDERLOIN - you don't think of steak.

You never bother looking at the MUNI line schedule because you know the drivers have never seen it.

A really great parking space can move you to tears.

You know that anyone wearing shorts in July must be visiting from Ohio.

You were born somewhere else. (ohio?)

You assume every company offers domestic partner benefits.

You experience "commitment issues" when deciding who to hang out with next weekend.

You feel prudish for never having had a threesome. . .

You're tan in spring and fall, pale in summer.

You'd like to spend more time exploring Berkeley, but its just so damn far away.

You found your current aparment, car, couch, running pals, bookgroup, girlfriend/boyfriend, and booty call all on Craigslist.

Your boss runs in "The Bay to Breakers"....and it's not the first time you have seen him/her nude.

You are thinking of taking an adult class but you can't decide between yoga, aroma therapy, conversational Mandarin or a building your own website class.

You haven't been to Fisherman's Wharf since the first month you moved to SF and you couldn't figure out how to drive to Coit Tower if your life depended on it.

Left is right and right is wrong.

Your monthly house payments exceed your annual income.

You dive under a desk whenever a large truck goes by.

You can't find your other earring because your son is wearing it.

Your family tree contains "significant others."

Your cat has its own psychiatrist.

Smoking in your office is not optional.

You pack shorts and a T-shirt for skiing in the snow, and a sweater and a wetsuit for the beach.

Rainstorms or thunder are the lead story for the local news.

Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the US

A man gets on the bus in full leather regalia and crotchless chaps.You don't even notice.

Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

You give a "thumbs up" gesture to a car with a "Free Tibet" bumper sticker and you mean it.

When you drive under an underpass - for one moment you think "earthquake".

You realize the only Republicans you know are your Aunt and Uncle in Texas.

You realize there are far more Rainbow flags in the city than California State Flags.

You go to your office manager's baby shower - the parent's are named Judy and Becky.

You've lived in the Marina for three and a half years and you've been to the Mission once for drinks. You're main impression is that it's "dirty". You won't go back.

You've lived in the Mission for three and a half years and you've never been to the Marina.

You consider "Tom Kha Gai" a staple food.

You consider hamburgers a "rare treat".

Through years of practice, you have perfected the art of the helpless looking "sorry, i'm broke" shrug that you use when someone asks you for change.

You wear foam trucker caps and cowboy hats out regularly in San Francisco, but you wouldn't be caught dead wearing one in Stockton.

At any given time, you are carrying three or more tiny electronic devices, some of which emit noises and/or buzzing at different frequencies, and all of which "simplify" your life.

WTF

Bush twins enlist.

The evolving and stagnant states of media

I'm very interested in the evolving state of media (i.e. cross media platforms) but more fascinated with the geo-political effects of static media.  

My Friday music recommendation

I recommend bumping some of "The Famous" for your work week to weekend transition facilitator.  I am a bit partial to "Tear" (3rd song) myself...but that's more of a drinking alone on a Sunday night sort of tune. 

According to the website:

"In the fog of San Francisco, nestled amidst garage-rock taverns and alt-country dive bars, lurks the music of The Famous. Formed in late 2003, The Famous are an indie-rock/americana act whose moods range from squalling and raucous to heartfelt and sparse -- all bound by a common thread of emotional intensity and arresting showmanship."

Website.

70 years to forget a lesson

The Social Security program was enacted to curb an ailing economy caused by the stock market crash of 1929.  I'm in the nascent stages of my social security reform analysis but it seems strange to me that we are putting hope into a stock market that in 1929 made us realize it couldn't assure a nation of fiscal security.   

And who decides where my money will be invested?  Do I get to choose which investment bank is juggling my security?  I hope so.