Politics of Neighborhood Naming and Plastic Bags

I found a couple of interesting articles. The first is about my neighborhood and the politics of neighborhood naming. Actually, it's about three neighborhoods. One is where the art museum is, on the other side of Market from downtown (South of Market, or SoMa). Another is the nightlife area near Agnieszka (Polk Village/Polk Gulch/Lower Nob Hill). The third is about my neighborhood (North Panhandle/NoPa/Anza Vista/Western Addition) and how it has related to its neighbor district, which starts accross the street from me (Western Addition/The Fillmore/Lower Pacific Heights). It's interesting, but less so if you are not interested in city planning or looking at maps, which I would recommend if you are not very familiar with the city.

It is from the San Francisco Apartment Association, and you'll have to copy it to the address bar in your browser, cuz I don't know how to make links work.

http://www.sfaa.org/magazine/archives/06/nov/0611.landes.html

The second is about how San Francisco is the first American city to ban plastic bags in supermarkets and drugstores. While I agree with the sentiment expressed by Ed Jew, I also think it's a good thing that should happen. Apparently, Ireland has already done this?! Well, anyway, enjoy!

This one is from today's Chronicle.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/28/MNGDROT5QN1.DTL

Current music: Big Brother and the Holding Company - Down on Me (Live at Winterland '68)

LA Plans, Quizno's and My Roommate

So, the plan is to leave San Francisco as soon as I get the car on Friday morning. They open at 7, so I expect to be on the road by 8. (I've had some recent experience in renting cars) ETA in Santa Monica is 2 or 3, which is definitely feasible, since googlemaps claims it only less than 6 hours. Give 2 hours for rental car hassle and traffic and we're there! After a little tour of Santa Monica, the plan is to drive through Hollywood (thus bypassing the 405) and drive straight down through South LA to Lomita, where there's a room with my friends Pat and Suzanne. The time of arrival should hopefully be around 7 pm. Who knows if any of this will actually work out. The next day, will be devoted to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Wilshire and Downtown LA. This mostly means driving through the city and looking at buildings. The hotel may a parking space, and the room is near the subway to downtown, which would be great because it won't take that much time in downtown. Mostly, I wanna see the Disney Theater. That night will be spent with Talia and her boyfriend, I think, in Hollywood. On Sunday, Universal Studios. When that's over, I get to drive all the way back to SF, hopefully arriving around 10pm. I then will have to wake up early and return the car on Monday morning, before dying in an exhausted heap on the floor. It will be fun though, and I really have never visited Los Angeles, since I've been old enough to remember.

Last night, I ate a Vietnamese sandwich on Union Square and then headed to Walgreens. I was standing there looking at the shelf when my former boss from the Market Street Tom's Cookies came in and recommended something to me. All very strange. Then, I went to Quizno's and drank a diet pepsi, and sat reading Solaris outloud while tourists gave me strange looks.

When I got home at just after nine, I started talking to my roommate and didn't stop until almost 11. He gave me a Sly and the Family Stone album to burn and I went to sleep.

Whew. I'm already tired and it's only Tuesday.

Napa, Teutophones and Indonesian Food

So, Agnieszka, Inga (from Germany), Kristina (from Austria) and I rented a car from Dollar. We waited forever and it was a huge hassle. However, I was persistent and I got the car, minus the under 25 fee, and because it was bigger than I asked for, I argued and I only had to fill up the tank halfway. It wasn't so bad.

We went to Napa and got directions to several vinyards/wineries. I added Bouchaine to the list, because I had been there with dad two years ago. We went there first. It was a little busy, and the woman working was a bit rude and condescending, but the man was wonderful. After a bit of discussion, Agnieszka decided to buy a bottle of dessert wine. Next we went to this huge place with sheep on the side of the windy road up to it. It had an elevator, and it was very swanky. The Teutophones decided to not taste there because it was expensive and as I was driving and Agnieszka is not the biggest drinker, we didn't partake. We just enjoyed the views and got lots of pictures. The last place was really cool, and had an art gallery. The other two tasted while we walked around and found several works by Anselm Kiefer, a German artist who Agnieszka and I actually both like. I usually couldn't care less about art, and if I do, I don't like the classical stuff that Agnieszka likes. But we had already seen the exhibit at the SFMOMA and so we were very excited to see more. Then, we drove back towards the Golden Gate Bridge, and it was the apocalypse. When we arrived at the bridge (the first time I have crossed it with me at the helm), we couldn't see the water or San Francisco. When we were on the bridge, the fog was so thick, we could only see about 20 feet and therefore no land or water. We could have been anywhere. Then, we went to an Indonesian restaurant on Geary for some really amazing food. It was our second time, and I think it's my favorite restaurant in the city.