SF Leftovers: Eskimo Frenz

Here are Melinda's pictures from the Low Tide/(Not) My Going Away Party. I hope she is my boyfriend in my next life as a fashion blogger. Can't beat 'em.

SF Leftovers: Fangirl Sez Goodbye/Clown Hair at Its Worst

Here I am with my #1 DJ in all of SF at my last Debaser before Chris, Jamie, and I hugged it out on the empty dance floor of the Knockout. It was a magical moment but also embarrassing because my crushed velvet dress was completely soaked in my and other people's sweat. It made for a moist goodbye (ew).

PS: The shot was mysteriously removed from the photo set on facebook soon after publication. I have my theories!

Frenching Hard

Vid of boogiedayz @ Hard French:

Last Call

(via??)

I spent my last weekend in San Francisco going about business as usual. Ana, Shrimp, and I caught the Zizek show (and backstage action!) at the Rickshaw Stop on Thursday. I used to go to the ZZK parties almost every week when I lived in Buenos Aires. Ana, of course, knows half of the label. I enjoyed the music more this time than I remember. Don't they say that if you live in San Francisco long enough you will eventually love electronic music?? You heard it here first: cumbia + dubstep = cumstep.




I enjoyed quality friend time with Ana and later Katie at Thieves and the Phonebooth on Friday. Ana presented me with the best surprise ever: custom magnetic poetry (see above). I am so jealous of myself! My friend knows me so well!!!

Courtney Trouble photo booth

Saturday was a marathon of neighborhood party fun. We cut zee rug at Hard French at El Rio then went back for more for my VERY LAST Debaser at the Knockout. I triple hugged it out at the end with Chris and my #1 favorite DJ and felt much better (pix forthcoming). My time in San Francisco came full circle when we ended up at an after party at a home we used to frequent during the CCA days.

SIGH! I MISS YOU ALREADY!
xx
Mission Mouse

Ciao Bella

photos by KG

Wah! Today was my last day of work. The day was short and anticlimactic. I'm really sad to leave such a great organization with really wonderful coworkers. It also sucks to not have an income anymore.

I can't believe I didn't already mention it: last month my boss (and role model!) Kelly threw me a surprise going away celebration with our co-workers from LA and Bill from New Mexico. The team surprised me with dinner at the Tonga Room at the Fairmont Hotel after a mysterious trolley ride and a visit to Grace Cathedral. How did they know about my affinity for tiki bars?? PERFECT! The anatomical heart model and voo-doo books were icing on the cake. I'm really going to miss those guys!

Dock Love

The low tide party was magical! Our reconnaissance mission to scope out the site paid off! The tie charts we consulted didn't lie!

The party planners and homies rolled up on bikes at around 8:30pm last Firday. We shimmied down the mouth of the broken dock's underbelly and set up shop on some rocks. Tea lights set in plastic milk jugs (thanks, Haus!) illuminated the space. The cavern was almost pitch black. A bunch of different friend groups arrived within the hour. Almost everyone I've ever known and loved in San Francisco came for the send off! The party eventually spilled out of the cave onto the top of the dock and everyone drank 40s (or at least I did?) in the unseasonably warm summer air. At the end of the party, when the tide started coming in, Megan Keely treated the remaining guests to three beautiful songs on her mini-guitar? banjo? The first song was the most special to me: a cover of Neil Young's "Pocahontas." Megan and I had a chance conversation about the song at an Ocean Beach bonfire back when I first moved to San Francisco. I have been asking her to play it for me since. SHE FINALLY DID AND IT WAS RAD (it's the soundtrack to the vid). Megan followed Pocahontas with Dolly's "Jolene" and an original song. The candlelit performance really made my night. It was such a lovefest. Thanks, friends!

After we packed up and hit the road the night continued. Some among us may or may not have set off firecrackers on 16th and South Van Ness.

NOT My Going Away Party

28th Annual BirthdayFest

Hey, remember this birthday?! We beat it!


Our SF posse surprised Laura with an adventure picnic day at the strange and mysterious Albany Bulb. We ate delicious snacks, toasted our dear friend several times, mazel tov'd three of my champagne flutes (grr!), and explored the sights of the Bulb. I don't feel like waxing about it right now so I will just share the vid:

Laura ('s grandma) treated a house full of guests to ice cream and keg at Treat Suite at night. There were Gunther colored balloons - a popular target for the sparklers and firecrackers - and all types of science experiments. The night was a fine example of keep it local = keep it awesome.

photos by Haus Julia, probably taken with an iphone app.

Gimme Fan Fiction

Fangirl back in action!

I took this dreamy DM shot w/my cellphone!

Last Thursday I took myself on a hot date to see Built to Spill at Slim's. I was front and center, all up in Doug Martsch's shoes. I prefer to go to hardcore fangirl shows alone (Neko Case, El-P, etc) so I can get in the band's grill and have a spiritual experience with the other fan freaks. The show met my expectations. The band's sound was consistent and they were generous with their set length. Sometimes B2S makes me want to kill myself because I associate it with the angsty Brian London years. I'm really getting over it though (I think?) and can finally enjoy the music without getting totally emo! YES! I met a bunch of superfan girls and boys up front. One blogged this review and took this vid (he was taking manic notes the whole time). Another B2S fangirl told she me bribed the bouncer with $60 to go back stage at Pavement's Stockton show and hooked up with someone in the band! I can't remember which dude - obvz not SM - but still! Drool! The venn overlap of Pavement and B2S superfans at Slim's that night was pretty large. I caught Katie and some homies at the Phonebooth after the show for an all night party. Can't contain zee fangirl H!


Next show!

Daniela and I spent Sunday night enchanted in a love trance at the Fox Theater in Oakland for the New Pornographers show (hometown favs The Dodos opened!). New Porno reminds me of doing laundry my freshman year of college (not in a bad way). We were really there to celebrate and worship the ONE AND ONLY NEKO CASE. Daniela's homeboy Tom/Jordan's fratbro/manager of the venue graciously hooked us up with VIP bracelets. Nice! We soon learned that we were too hardcore for those seats. We pushed ahead through the makeout tweens and middle-aged bald dudes to get front stage right where Neko was singing with her sweet tambo (see vid below). The Fox, in its fanciness, keeps the audience behind a three foot barrier so it was impossible to paw at the ankles of our leader. Still, the performance was wholly satisfying. The band played a fine show. Neko's mellifluous voice rocked our souls to the core. She is amazing! After the encore, Daniela and I unfurled our fangirl poster ("THESE TORNADOES LOVE YOU") but we don't think she saw it. Bummer! I will admit that I was nervous about getting in trouble with Neko since she had recently scolded a fan at a Boston show and also was a little testy during our show because all of the fans were yelling out her name so much (fyi: Daniela made the opening hoot and was by far the most emphatic). Tom did take our poster backstage afterwards so there is hope that she saw it. NEKO! IF YOU ARE READING THIS! WE LOVE YOU! U DA BEST! THANKS FOR BEING THERE FOR ME! THANK YOU FOR BEING THE BEST TAMBO ROLE MODEL EVER!

Next show!

Fangirl honorable mention: I saw Vermont band Happy Birthday on Tuesday at the Rickshaw. Don't even know them but got all three members of the band to autograph (with custom drawings) both the cover and the sleeve of their vinyl!

Adventures in Tie Dye

Craftiness is a staple trait of my San Francisco life - who needs a TV when you can get high and make things?! It totally helps that my friends are design school grads and are always up for a challenge (see bounty of projects under HOW TO label).

The upcoming de Young exhibit and a sale on XXL t-shirts at Walgreens inspired Katie and me to take on a marathon dying project on Friday night. We ran around for hours gathering supplies then executing the plan. Here is a vid on how you can do it too :

HOMEPOKE: How to Make a Stick & Poke Tattoo on the Cheap & Easy

In another didactic video with Hyphie, Laura provides a detailed companion to the first stick and poke tutorial from her home parlor on Treat and 25th.

"Keep it local, keep it awesome" - #94110

The outtakes are here.

Tamale Ringwald Does SF Pride 2010

We had the good fortune of meeting a dude named Tree after a string of missed connections on Saturday night. We followed this head-to-toe whiteglitterfur unicorn to a big Pride rave in the dance space above 24th and Mission. We ran into many friends: Daniela's grocer, present + former Henrique lovers, besparkled Alan who was by far the best dressed, and our very own long, lost, crazyeyed Arabella (!!!!!). She's been living, working, and converting to Judaism in Berkeley with her girlfriend for the past year. Wild.

Dancing continued for hours. A drag queen later anointed Yoram with a tranny name (see vid below)! Others were just plain sassy. We boogied until we got shin splints and could no longer take the cancer flavor of Danish's disgusting watermelon gum. When it was time to leave, Laura and I learned the hard way that the giant orgy in the side room had spilled out and was taking place on top of our stash of stuff. I shimmied my jacket out from under a dude's ass and Laura eventually wiggled her bag free from another lucky guy's head. Glitter! BJs! Electronic music! The whole scene was pretty dead-on for Pride in San Francisco.

Next Laura, Henrique, Danish, and I tried to go to Delano's to get supplies to make delicious fruity juice. It's not open at 6am apparently! Instead we went back to Treat to make "BROmosas" and listen to the best/funniest Burner mix by DJ Shakti Bliss (omfg) with Charlie.

We caught a few ZzZzZzZzzzz then woke up in time to meet back up with the posse at the Knockout for the MEX-ARG game, though too tired to vuvu. My homie from pre-Pavement drinks was tending bar and boiling weenies (his secret to delicious dawgs: hot Anchor Steam). I confess to the narco-consumption of the following items during the game: one extra spicy bloody mary, one egg and cheese sandwich, one pint of root beer, one super veggie taco, and one and a half REAL MEAT "tube steaks." After the game it was all trazodone and slumbers for the remains of my Sunday.

Happy Holiday! Vamos Messi!


PS: BROMOSA RECIPE
- 1 40 oz. bottle of Miller High Life (luckily I already had one of these chillin for me in the Treat refrigerator - $2.25 out the door! Best deal in town!)
- 1 carton of Ruby Red grapefruit juice (must be RUBY)
Pour 1 part brew with 1 part juice into a glass Ball jar. Mix with a chopstick. Toast the night as the sun rises to DJ Shakti Bliss's mellifluous "Unicorns on a Soggy Night."

I Left My Heart in San Francisco (How to Make Stick and Poke Tattoo Part I)

Let the countdown begin: I am moving to New Orleans in five weeks. While am super excited to get rolling on my life's next adventure I sure am feeling sad about leaving this great city and all of my wonderful friends here.

Laura accepted my request for a stick and poke tattoo and we finally got down to doing it. It's a small heart above the "birthmark" on my right forearm - a tender token to remember my 2.5 years of Mission living. This was the first stick and poke for both of us. Laura poked the whole thing free hand (no pens!) over the course of an hour. It didn't hurt at all since I used to be a cutter (har har har)!

I shot a more thorough instructional vid with Laura and Hyphie this week. It's still "rendering" so I leave you with the "how to" of mine for now:

Calling All Shadrows

On Saturday afternoonI vuvuzela-ed over to Dolores Park with Daniela and her homeboys for some Pride Weekend sunshine after catching the sad (secretly happy) USA-Ghana game. Many lovely faces were present, including Andres, who was up from LA for the holiday. In fact, EVERYONE lovely was there EXCEPT Alex (he was too careless to make the drive up from LA himself).

To: Alex
Love: Your Fanclub (Andres, Daniela, Ruby, sorta Pete, BJ)

Berkeley, CA: Gold Soundz

Pete, Phillip, and I met up with my favorite DJ Jamie Jams and the Knockout crowd at Casanova on Friday night and took the BART to Berkeley for the Pavement show (!!!!!) at the Greek Theater. We met up with Hyphie and made our way to the edge of the bleachers for the best view over the standing pit. THE SHOW WAS MAGICAL!! I WISH I WERE THERE AGAIN RIGHT NOW. Malkmus and the band were as well-rehearsed as ever - every song was spot on. They played a great mix of tunes and the set was super long. The set design was simple and dreamy. The Greek was enchanting (it was packed but apparently not sold out - made me feel like an idiot for purchasing my ticket 5 min. after the pre-sale opened in January!!!!!!). Everyone I've ever met in the Bay Area was standing somewhere out there in the crowd. I pretty much cried and hollered the whole time. This music is super sentimental for me. It's the o.g. soundtrack from high school through college until now. I was freaking out so hard Phillip had to tell me to calm down for the sake of the dudes next to us.

I had big plans for a big vid where I was going to interview a ton of fanboys and fangirls about the show but I was honestly so enthralled with the tunez that I could only muster a few clips from the set (you can hear me drooling on the audio).

Stick and Poke Bloopers

Outtakes from the stick and poke vid ("how to" vid coming soon!):

used this as a distraction

Homie Come Home!

My super-homie and room mate Samantha is finally home tonight after a week on the AIDS Ride. 7Duncan hasn't been the same without her - fangirl signs are a MUST!

You Know I'm Gunna Miss You

(via)

Weekend Update

This weekend was (mostly) fun and summer-y:

Kram, Henrique, Samantha, Laura, and I met up with Hyphy and co. at the monthly Art Murmur in Oakland on Friday night. I'm not wild about going out in Oakland because the bars close too early and one losses a lot of time going to/fro on BART. That said, Art Murmur is fun if only for the lax open container/public urination rules. It's also fun because it's such a scene with inevitable run-ins with long lost friends. Afterwards, I jammed with Kram and then we went to a "90s" hip-hop night. I am so pissed about this that I am going to save my rant for a time when I can afford to raise my blood pressure.

I spend Saturday practicing being still for many hours at the Korean bath house in Japantown. Imperial Day Spa is a great no-frills place to spend the day alone relaxing and working through issues. I went to Debaser at night and it was just what I needed.

We went to SF Indie Mart at the Parkside on Sunday. It was like Etsy and Dolores Park exploded onto the sidewalk. Items that decidedly need to go away: mustache crafts, Burner fashion, ANTLERS. I did however but a really rad crystal ring after a few bloody mary dranks. I'm going to charge that badboy so hard when we go on our Solstice 2010 glamping trip! After Potrero we went back to Treat Suite for a killer jam session (though I didn't jam, I just drank). Christy is a badass drummer!

See you on the 21st, Pacha!

Catching Crabs with Hyphy, PGW, Melinda