Ever since the San Francisco Planning Commission denied American Apparel’s request to set up shop in the Mission by a 7-0 vote because of you wonderfully protest-happy people of San Francisco, I’ve been wondering if the battle is really over. American Apparel is already trying to kill us with kindness, by offering anyone with a valid Mission address on their California driver’s license 25% off anything in the store until March 15, possibly because they know that they’d lose approximately 75% of their business in San Francisco if Mission hipsters suddenly decided they didn’t have a fondness for unisex slacks anymore. It’s a nice offer, surely, but personally, I’d feel hypocritical for using it.
As we’ve seen in this struggle, American Apparel is an aggressive corporation with a lot of muscle. It’s nice that they’re appeasing Mission residents with this 25% off offer — though in these tough times, even with the discount, I don’t know many people who want to spend $25 on a disco unitard. [Ed Note: And the offer will drive business out of the Mission! Clever, clever.] But what if the assault doesn’t end here? What if the olive branch is just a way for American Apparel to pull the wool over our eyes, while they hatch their plot to punish San Francisco for denying them access to Valencia Street? Remember that the term “kill with kindness” originated in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, from Petruchio’s line: “This is a way to kill a wife with kindness,” and ultimately refers to the following tactic: divert attention, then attack.
I’m not saying we should boycott American Apparel. I’m saying that if we have to go into battle once again, we need to be just as prepared as we were for the last one. After much study and consideration, I present to you a countdown of eight possible revenge attacks by American Apparel, after the jump.
Although San Francisco kisses the Pacific Ocean, the possibility of cold, fog and rain keeps its residents from looking like they live by the sea. Flip-flops rarely graze the sidewalk, and sheer sundresses are often eschewed in favor of warmer, more substantial fabrics and garments.
Petaluma native Meggie White wants to change that. Her breezy, beautiful new Union Street boutique, .meggie. — which is having a special sale event this Friday (see below) — is breathing fresh, sea-salty air into San Francisco’s shopping options. Walking into her shop is like walking into a beach house, bathed in bright pastels and punctuated by bleach white starfish and seashells scattered about the shelves.
Better yet, this beach house is a giant closet. Seersucker shirts with embroidered hems hang off cabinet corners. A rainbow of light, oversized scarves filters the sunshine pouring in the window. Shoes and boots trot up a stepladder. Loose knit throw sweaters hang beneath wooden picture frames. Delicate gold earrings dangle from white branches.
Those glittering hoops are what inspired White to open her beach house boutique. She wanted to stop selling the jewelry she designs and makes through stores so she could bring the prices down. And she wanted to create a space where other small, independent lines could thrive. “I know how hard it is to go knocking on store’s doors and get your label in there,” says White. “I have fun building relationships with local designers, I love hearing how excited they are when what they make flies out the door and I have to order more.”
Thanks to my geeky roommate, I’ve discovered my favorite new time-waster: the Binary-to-Text translator.
And yes, it’s just what it sounds like it is. Using the same format as classic online translators, which convert a block of text in one language into a block of text in another, Binary-to-Text converts words or phrases (in any language, it seems) into a series of 1s and 0s – and everyday people into super-nerds.
Diana Dunkelberger gets the scoop on yummy local edibles. View her last installment here.
For this week’s installation of The Larder, we’ve gotten some help from Sylvan Mishima Brackett, the longtime assistant to Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, and the owner of Peko-Peko, a fantastic Japanese catering company that specializes in the robust fare of the izakaya (Japanese tavern). Sylvan, who was born in Kyoto, named his company after a rather onomatopoeic Japanese word that means “really really hungry, like spikes of pain are ripping through your body.”
These days, when Sylvan is “peko-peko,” he prepares Rex Sole Karaage. (“Karaage” is a Japanese cooking technique that involves marinating meat and then deep frying it. In this case, Rex sole, a delicious type of fish.)
The king of sole, delightfully fried. Photos by Aya Brackett
Sylvan’s favorite place to buy fish is the eco-conscious Monterey Fish Market at Pier 33, which sells sole caught 150 miles up the coast in Fort Bragg for the very affordable price of $5.99 per pound. Sylvan first discovered this recipe while he was working at a Japanese restaurant in the countryside, two hours away from Tokyo, surrounded by rice paddies. For him, the best part of this dish is that you can eat the entire sole — crispy, crackly bones and all.
It’s finally time! We’re announcing the winner to our Shop Local contest, in which we challenged readers to send us stories about how they spent at least $100 at locally-owned and operated businesses during the 2008 holiday season. We received so many fantastic entries, we extended the deadline way beyond Christmas day. But lucky for you, we’re publishing some of our favorites just in time for Valentine’s Day. When getting gifts for that special someone, don’t forget to send the local economy a bit of love too!
(And by the way, for those inspired to continue the shop local initiative throughout the year, please keep in mind that the plan is not only to buy things near your home, but from businesses that are based in San Francisco. The Starbucks or Target on the corner may be nearby, but they ain’t local. Now, commence your shopping.)
First up, our contest winner etristan, who will receive $500 in gift certificates to local businesses. We like this entry because the writer took shopping local to a fantastically micro level, keeping cash not only within San Francisco but within the writer’s own neighborhood. Plus, we like all the specific ideas for creative gifts.
The Year of the Ox started with a bang of firecrackers and a gigantic parade that made its way through downtown San Francisco. Families lined up early to get a prime viewing spot along the parade route, while munching on steam buns and pot stickers to keep them warm. Colorful dragons pranced along with dancers and fanciful floats. Happy New Year … Gung Hay Fat Choy and Gong He Xin Xi!
To a slightly lesser extent than the invasion of Afghanistan — where Taliban assholes are still spraying young girls’ faces with acid — the occupation of Iraq was touted as a women’s liberation project. We were the white knights coming to tear the veils off and throw open wide the doors to fancy new schools, theaters, community centers, and business opportunities.
Boy, that turned out to be quite a bit of presumptive hash. In the giant WTF that followed “shock and awe,” many learned the limits of such blanket assertions — but of course the deaths of tens of thousands are still seen here as nothing but a big fat lesson for Westerners. What about the people who had to live through it all?
One incisive complaint is that the West has failed to include enough voices from Iraq to give a fuller picture of the occupation’s effects — both the disastrous and the hopeful. Iraqi women, especially, seem even more invisible now than before the invasion.
Co-authors Nadje Al-Ali, Reader in Gender Studies at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and Nicola Pratt, Lecturer in Comparative Politics and International Relations at the University of East Anglia, just released a new UC Press book that attempts a corrective. What Kind of Liberation?: Women and the Occupation of Iraq is the first book to examine how Iraqi women have fared since the invasion, and attempts to “expose the gap between rhetoric that placed women center stage and the present reality of their diminishing roles in the ‘new Iraq.'”
It’s something like an Obamanenon, the way his campaign catchphrases have infiltrated the wholly commercial realm quicker than you can say, “Yes we can!”
We all know the most obvious instance, the fusion of Pepsi and Obama. Perhaps he triggered it by adopting a remarkably similar campaign symbol:
But Pepsi is determined to consume him — and us. It’s impossible to walk through certain BART/Muni tunnels downtown without the special form of mind control that comes from placards that tease the corners of your eyes no matter which way you turn:
Yet, without a doubt, my favorite Obama-imitator is a much smaller commercial entity, the TV ad specialist Roni Deutch. There’s something very Peppermint Patty about Roni. Yes you can fight the IRS, Chuck!:
I’m sure there are dozens of other Obama-influenced jingles out there. Yes you can tell us about them!
There is a particular breed of San Franciscan male who is sensitive, nurturing, and never gets tired of communicating. I know what you’re thinking. What’s his phone number and why haven’t you met him yet? You haven’t met him because he’s at home, sitting in front of the computer, and taking care of the kids. He is the elusive San Franciscan stay-at-home dad blogger. And one thing’s for sure: Stay-at-home dads update their blogs frequently!
SFDad says his “main reason for existence is to provide you with news and information about the most important (at least to us) baby in the world, SFBaby.” Before you balk, jaded Guardian readers, first check out his blog. You’ll realize that his gushing dad syndrome is actually really heartwarming, even for us. I totally got hooked on the three-part-series of SFDad and SFBaby going to visit SFGrandparents without SFMom. And this story about how SFDad bought mittens for SFBaby at an import store in the Mission because he was on a budget and didn’t want to get them at Baby Gap.
Doodaddy is the kind of father who wants “dump a gallon of pond slime on a 7-year old girl” because she wouldn’t let your daughter play with her (ostensibly because the 7-year old was raised by “sociopathic coyotes in a cave somewhere”). He chronicles the lives of Blueberry, his 9-month old, and Boo, his 3-year old, and states “part of my very existence orbits around ways to pawn my children off on other people”. Now this is the kind of parenting blog we can all relate to! Though he claims he’s “just not much of a parent,” his blog reveals that he cares deeply about his children (I mean, his life literally revolves around them, attempted pawning notwithstanding), and he is dealing with it the way any young San Franciscan urbanite would: with a lot of befuddlement, some apprehensions, and a whole lot of love and patience.
Photographers Steve Rotman and Chris Brennan want you to focus on the beautiful. Their photo book of local street art, Bay Area Graffiti, drops this Friday with a launch party at 111 Minna. The bomb tome offers 208 pages of stunning landscape photos, as well as in-depth artist interviews with major players like JENKS, ABNO, CHUBS, HARSH, NESTA, REYES, CYMES, APEX and more – which “reveal personal stories, insights into inspiration, and harrowing tales of agility, all in the name of getting up.”
From Bay Area Graffiti
(The Online Graffiti Glossary, explains “getting up”: “Originally, “getting up” meant to sucessfully hit a train. Now it means to hit up anything, anywhere, with any form of graffiti, from a tag all the way up to a wildstyle burner — although the term implies the process of tagging repeatedly to spread your name. Tagging something once would be getting up, but would not make you an ‘up’ writer.” Etymology!)
Many of the up graffiti writers featured in the book will be making appearances at the launch bash.
BIO Josh Hagler has exhibited artwork in galleries in London, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. He is the recipient of the Wildgift Movement Grant. In the spring of 2010, he will have his first European solo exhibition at Galerie Raphael in Frankfurt, Germany.
SHOW "72 Virgins to Die For," Thurs/5 through March 1 (reception Thurs/5, 6–9 p.m.). Frey Norris Gallery, 456 Geary, SF. (415) 346-7182, www.freynorris.com
SFBG’s Laura Peach rounds up local items and experiences to die for
Valentine’s Day gift giving can be tricky. You need to choose something that’s romantic and significant, yet appropriate for your relationship status and your budget. These special treats for your Valentine sweet are sure to please.
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1. Stay sexy
The Alanya Room
Book a night in San Francisco’s sexiest hotel rooms, the SugarLuxe and Alanya at Hotel Des Artes ($69-$189). Yes, Playboy and pornography inspired these female artists to paint scantily clad, larger than life women on the walls. Yet nothing about the pop-artesque murals seems sleazy. To us anyway.
All natural, Berkeley based personal care company Nancy Boy has concocted a sumptuous signature body oil that is perfect for massages ($21). Stock up at the clean, calming Hayes Valley store and let your hands get to work.
If your special Valentine is the type of person who likes getting a desk or a side table for Valentine’s Day, it would behoove you to know that Branch, an online furniture store specializing in sustainable, eco-friendly modern furniture, is having a Valentine’s Day sale. And, the best part about this sale is that, unlike other Valentine’s Day events (like going out for fondue or checking out that new shitty Renee Zellweger movie) you don’t even need a Valentine in order to go. In fact, unlike other Valentine’s Day events, this one is actually more fun to attend alone, because this beautiful handmade Cortiça Chaise Lounge only seats one, and Branch only has one floor model of it in stock. And this wine pitcher only comes with one cup. I’ll be using that cup to drink on my onerubber placemat. So there!
PS: if you mention that you heard about this via the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Branch will offer an extra 5% discount beyond their already discounted prices. You’re welcome!
Branch Warehouse Sale
11:30AM to 5:00PM
Saturday, February 7
245 South Van Ness Ave. Suite 304
415-626-1012 www.branchhome.com
In the 90’s, there were girls who rocked. Kim Deal, Courtney Love, the girl from White Zombie. I didn’t realize it at the time, but these women were an inspiration. They still are; a big fat middle finger to anybody who says girls can’t rock out and rock hard. This is a big theme in the insightful documentary Girls Rock!: girls today have some pretty commercialized, f&*%#d up role models. It’s about a rock and roll camp for girls in Portland, Oregon and follows a few first-timers throughout their weeklong journey of songwriting, guitar playing, and all the compromises in between. By the end of it, these male directors manage to illustrate the girls gaining confidence and a better understanding of their own capabilities.
SFBG’s Juliette Tang peeps the best eco-friendly products and boutiques.
It seems that the biggest trend in fashion these days isn’t the ankle boot, the harem pant, or the high-waisted jean, but the color green. Everything is being dyed green lately, no? And by green I don’t mean the color of that pretty John Galliano dress. I mean green as in producing goods in a socially conscious manner, inflicting as little harm as possible on the environment, and considering the sustainability of the planet as a meaningful paradigm in the relationship between labor, assembly, and production. Green as in the type of clothing one might find in boutiques like Wildlife Works, a green fashion label headquartered in San Francisco whose mission is to save endangered wildlife in Kenya.
Unlike much of the clothing on the market that is labeled ‘green,’ the products at Wildlife Works are actually green. Sadly, ‘green’ is often a misnomer used to mislead consumers. It seems everyday we’re hearing news of fraudulent eco-friendly products that aren’t nearly as green as they claim to be. Says Mike Korchinsky, founder and CEO of Wildlife Works, “Is everything that claims to be eco-friendly really eco-friendly? No, absolutely not. The marketing world has caught onto the green buzz and has been making a lot of hay out of the green movement.” From poor quality goods to deceitful advertising, spurious greenwashing is everywhere.
What do you do if you find yourself in the Mission District at 4:00 PM, don’t want to ruin your appetite for dinner, but really really need a snack, so direly that you’re acting like a cranky bitch toward your friends? I found myself in this predicament yesterday, and as I gazed longingly into my purse (as cavernous and empty as my stomach) I knew that plunking down $8 for grilled veggies at Bi-Rite was beyond the realm of possibility.
But budgeting constraints shouldn’t mean that my only snack option is a can of Pringles at the Walgreens at 16th and Mission, and lucky for me, San Francisco has a cornucopia of cheap snack options that are as equally appetizing to the palate as they are the bank account.
SFBG’s Diana Dunkelberger gets the scoop on yummy local edibles
With whimsical, childlike labels, and playful names like “ridiculously raspberry jam,” “a smokin’ hot apricot jam,” and “grrr! wild olallieberry jam,” each jar of cmbsweets jam is a small-scale expression of happiness.
Carolina Braunschweig, the “cmb” of cmbsweets, made her first batch of jam just a few years ago, when she discovered she had more farmers’ market strawberries than she knew what to do with. After experimenting with varying amounts of sugar, she eventually settled on adding just a third the amount of sugar as most jams. The result is an intensely vivid fruit flavor that has half the calories of other jams.
All of Carolina’s jams work extremely well with toast or scones, of course, but they can also be used to sweeten yogurt or enliven a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
SFBG’s Laura Peach checks out local fashion you can afford.
Ever wake up, open your closet and just hate everything in it? You try on a dozen different outfits, but nothing seems to work. As your desperation grows with the pile of discards, you finally pick up the phone and call your best friend to see if you can borrow her emerald green dress. That is, assuming your best friend is your size and also lives down the street. And if she doesn’t….
Shaye La McKenney is your new best friend. She wants you to look fabulous. And she will let you borrow her clothes.
Her brilliant Guerrero Street venture La Library is a boutique that you can rent clothes from. That’s right, rent. So a gorgeous drapey German couture knit gown can be yours for that grand gala you’ve got coming up. You can slip into a sweet jersey knit dress for that hot date tomorrow night. Or you can swipe a simple black silk blouse to wear to lunch with that friend who you’re sure has already seen most of your clothes at least twice.
Photo by Anastasia Kuba. From the La Library MySpace: “All the jewelry is from sasha’s collection of designer 60’s bling. All being sold at La Library.”
Here’s how it works: clothes can be rented for 10% of their retail price per night. Meaning that a lovely $150 crepe dress will cost you $15 to wear out. Just take care, if something tragic happens, you’ll either be charged the full price of the item or a $25 cleaning fee if the red wine stain can be removed.
Getting into the opening of the The Pad, a new yoga studio in the Marina, felt more like trying to get into a club than a wellness center. First of all, there was a doorman. Second of all, he almost didn’t let me in. “Who here do you know?” he asked me, scanning his clipboard. I stood on the green carpet (hah) haggling with him for a minute, before finally dropping “San Francisco Bay Guardian,” at which point I was quickly ushered inside. Let me note, at this point, that I attended this function for work-related purposes, as the SFBG was cordially invited to attend by Maven PR. Fancy, huh?
Doorman, green carpet
Once I was inside, I was quickly shocked to see that everyone was in cocktail attire. My boyfriend and I glanced at one another in alarm. He was wearing a flannel jacket and jeans with a giant hole in the crotch. I was wearing leggings and a ratty dress. We were lost in a sea of Brooks Brothers jackets, Thomas Pink button-downs, Diane von Furstenburg wrap dresses, Stuart Weitzman heels. Was I in some sort of alternate universe? I mean, it was the Marina. I wasn’t on Kansas Street anymore. Luckily there was plenty of food and an open bar sponsored by Lotus Vodka.
After a complementary glass of champagne, I quickly found Angela, my PR connection, and asked if I could have a tour of the facilities. She introduced me to Leila Burrows, co-owner of The Pad.
Ficks interviews Kelly Reichardt, director of Wendy and Lucy, which opens in the Bay Area Fri/30. (For Guardian reviewer Lynn Rapoport’s take on the film, go here.)
San Francisco Bay Guardian: Why are all the hipsters moving to Portland? They heard there were no jobs.
Kelly Reichardt: That’s a good one. It’s actually not even a joke. Did you know 66,000 people moved to Portland last year? We (filmmakers) Todd Haynes, Gus (Van Sant), myself, we’re all ruining it for Portland by making films there.
SFBG: Both of your last films were shot in Portland. Why did you start making films there?
KR: Todd Haynes is a close friend and moved there about nine years ago. He kept calling me and saying, “These people are so great!” And I was like “Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up.” So I started visiting him out there and started making some short films. Then Todd introduced me to Jon Raymond who ended up writing Old Joy (2006) and Wendy and Lucy and now we’re working on a new film together. Jon also wrote a novel that I really fell for, The Half Life. If you don’t want to take my word for it, it’s one of Thurston Moore’s favorites. In any case, Jon’s writing is so region specific (born and raised in Portland) and his writing ties people into their surroundings in a way that is really appealing to me. There’s also a lot of space in his writing, which makes it easy as a reader to bring your own self to the table. I’m making films again because I found a writer that really fits with my filmmaking style. And the films are so much the better for it.
SFBG: While watching Wendy and Lucy I kept thinking this film is the perfect antithesis to Sean Penn’s Into the Wild (2007).
KR: It’s funny, when I saw the trailer for Into the Wild I was like, “oh no, that’s our movie!” But his film is more like, Nature on Speed.
SFBG: Michelle Williams was so wonderful in Wendy and Lucy, especially her scenes with the older man who played the security guard.
KR: The security guard is an interesting guy in real life too! His name is Walter Dalton — Wally. I can’t even remember what the character’s name was suppose to be in the script but it just became Wally because he so embodied it. His other life before Wendy and Lucy was that he was a writer for TV like [for] the Smothers Brothers, Laverne and Shirley and Barney Miller. I love the Smothers Brothers. Plus he’s a total lefty, awesome guy. And he just came down from Seattle to read for us one day. He’s such a good guy, that when he would leave the set, we would all go, “Oh Wally.”
SFBG: Wendy and Lucy, like Old Joy, feels like the answer to what’s dragging down the recent indie cinema scene. Do you make a conscious effort to take that step when making your films?
KR: That’s so nice of you. Come to my class and tell my students that. My students are all like “You’re gonna show us this again?”
Wendy and Lucy trailer:
SFBG: I really do think your films are that next step. A neo-indie scene, which is less marketed to them and can deliver something that they didn’t know they wanted.
KR: Well, I teach visual storytelling up at Bard College. It’s a very groovy place. I get to work with a bunch of filmmakers that I really admire like Peter Hutton, Jacqueline Goss, Peggy Ahwesh, Les LeVeque. It’s this hardcore, mostly avant-garde group who are all so badass. And that’s the funny thing with me there; I’m like the sell-out narrative person of the group! (Laughs)
SFBG: What a great role to play!
KR: I’m what they can handle as far as narrative goes. So I teach visual storytelling, and the gist of my class is kinda old school in the way of telling a story through camera placement and movement. I do sort of feel that this is going by the wayside, how to tell a story visually, just by the nature of video cameras and the whole mumblecore movement which is the opposite to what I’m trying to teach. Though I can’t say that my students have embraced mumblecore as much as I feared they would.
SFBG: Are you attracted to working with other filmmakers, or working in a community like the mumblecore directors?
KR: (Laughs) I’m in a community. I swear I am! Ira Sachs (Forty Shades of Blue, 2005), Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter, 2006), and I all used to share an office back in the day so we all like showing each other our latest films. It’s true we don’t act in one another films or anything. I have Todd Haynes watch cuts of my films and give me notes as well as Phil Morrison who directed Junebug (2005). Actually Todd Haynes did make an appearance in one of my films once when he stopped by the Wendy and Lucy set, by walking into a really long take, wearing an Old Joy t-shirt! I was like, “Who’s that asshole? Oh Todd, thanks for stopping by.” I also keep up with So-Yong Kim (In Between Days, 2006). So yeah, I’m in a community.
SFBG: Why did you start teaching?
KR: They say, “Those who can’t do, teach” but they never talk about the actual teaching part. When teaching is good, it’s really, really good. Being at Bard College is a place I have wanted to be at for a long time. There’s eight students to a class and they don’t let you just major in film. When my students are coming into my class saying things like, “I just built a theremin in music class!” it really charges me. One of my classes is Intro to Moving Image and all these kids who are growing up with computers are suddenly getting to go into the Cascades with a Bolex in their hands for the first time and it’s awesome. Plus, I love to talk about film. As I said, I’m working on a new film, a Western with Jon (Raymond) and so I’ve been slipping Westerns into my teaching, which keeps me thinking about my own things in a new way. These kids who are studying avant-garde filmmaking more than narrative, will hear me say something I take perfectly for granted like “objective shot” and they’ll bring in a shot of a beetle and ask if it’s objective. And I’ll get to go, “I don’t know, let’s sit here and think about it!”
SFBG: How do you continue to make these little masterpieces?
KR: I haven’t put the burden of having to make my living on filmmaking. I mean it just didn’t work for me. I think these films, the way we’re making them really works because that burden isn’t there. You go off and no one’s paying attention to you and you have privacy and have six months to edit and then you can still go back and shoot and redo some things. There aren’t too many hands in the pie. It’s all just very small stuff. And since no one’s getting paid on these movies, we can take that burden off the filmmaking process and I’m able to be put in the realm that’s more feasible for me.
SFBG: Please just keep making more of these kinds of movies.
