Giants Mix

In honor of opening day... a short mix for the Giants. [Ed update: what the hell, Tejada.]

Credit for a chunk of this has to come from this lovely mix, which I listened to a lot last October. (It's also really great to work out to...)

Run This Town SF Giants Remix - DJ E Rock

Electric Feel - MGMT (Timmy's warm up song)

Only Girl in the World SF Remix - Rihanna (Well, the remix comes from San Francisco, and I was listening to it a lot during the series...)

The City - Richie Cunning (video isn't the whole song - fyi)

Black and Orange - Bailey

Say Hey I Love You (SF Giants Version)- Michael Franti

Higher Ground - RHCP

Vertigo - U2

Song 2 - Blur

Know Your Enemy- Green Day

Ready, Steady, Go - Paul Oakenfold

(Those last five are on because they all played at AT&T park on Monday)

SF Giants Fight Song

Don't Stop Believing (Giants 2010) - Ashkon (Duh.)

The San Francisco Mix

Right; I love creating mixes. I don't know that I'm particularly good at it, but I enjoy it. I have a long list of songs about San Francisco and California that I listen to whenever I'm feeling homesick, and I thought I'd see if I could put together an actual CD for friends of mine. These aren't all necessarily my favorites, but I wanted a breadth that would cover both San Francisco's styles and appeal to a wide variety of listeners.

So - here it is. (The runners-up to follow shortly)

1. Save Me San Francisco – Train
2. San Francisco – Vanessa Carlton
3. San Francisco – Scott McKenzie
4. California Dreamin’ – The Mamas and the Papas
5. We Built this City – Jefferson Starship (Yes. It's terrible. But I still love it. Shut up.)
   
6. Earthquakes and Sharks – Brandston
7. Don’t Stop Believing (Giants 2010) – Ashkon
8. The City – Richie Cunning (the video doesn't feature the entire song, unfortunately. I love the shout-out to the 29 bus. That's MY bus!)
   
9. San Francisco Rain (Chris Lake Remix) – Lys ft. Mooli
10. California Stars – Billy Bragg & Wilco
11. Grace Cathedral Hill – The Decemberists
12. San Francisco – Jill Sobule
13. I’m Always Drunk in San Francisco – Carmen McRae
14. San Francisco Days – Chris Isaak
15. Road Trippin’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
16. California, Here I Come – I Love Lucy
17. San Francisco – Judy Garland
18. I Left My Heart in San Francisco – Tony Bennett (hula what now?)
    
19. Lights – Journey

Right, I'm just going to go ahead and embed the Ashkon video here, because it is wonderful:

It goes on and on

I passed a man in Harvard Station today.

He was wearing a Giants cap.

I grinned at him and he beamed back.

Love it.

I love this video for two reasons:

1) it's an ode to SF

2) It slams that movie which I hate the most this year

Never Let Me Go (and more Giants)

More Giants fun:
1 - One of my favorite tweets of the night; "@K: Prediction: San Francisco baby boom in July 2011"
2 - This NYTimes article on Lincecum.
3 - PGA Caddies rock
4 - There's that Obama phone call I was mentioning
5 - Lincecum on Market
6 - Journey on Polk Street
7 - The Hall of Fame artifacts
8 - Yes, our 'riots' had tightrope walkers
9 - Clips
10- San Fugcisco Giants/Wilsonly Played, Brian Wilson

And Wilson on the Tonight show. I love these two photos.

And yes the parade was insane. BART broke all rider records, over 1 million people showed up, and it was the largest parade in city history.

Oh, and did the official shirt need to be all Ed Hardy-esque? What is that?

And in the interest of remembering that this blog is supposed to be devoted to movies, not baseball (quick! Cast the inevitable underdog movie! Reeve Carney as Lincecum! Kyle Gallner as Bumgarner! Chris Meloni as Brian Wilson!), I went to go see Never Let Me Go about a week ago. I mostly enjoyed it. Hmmm... enjoyed? Okay - I was mostly devastated by it. But in a good way.

The film is based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is about three childhood friends at an isolated English boarding school for special children. While they navigate growing up and their relationships, it becomes rapidly apparent that being special children may not be a good thing, and the lives that they are destined to lead will not be easy.

The film is directed by Mark Romanek, who is a fabulous music video director (not quite Samuel Bayer, but really good). (Probably his most famous is Closer by NIN, which is now part of the permanent collection at the MOMA, but he also did Criminal by Fiona Apple, The Perfect Drug by NIN (Edward Gorey!), Hella Good by No Doubt, Got Till It's Gone - Janet Jackson, Devil's Haircut by Beck and my favorite RHCP video ever: Can't Stop).

Anyways, his background shines through in Never Let Me Go, which is visually beautiful and stunningly shot. The plot itself is a bit dystopian sci-fi by way of English country romance. The leads are fantastic. Carey Mulligan continues her streak of honest, searing portrayals, Kiera Knightley is bracing and unglamorous, and Andrew Garfield continues his ascent as the best new actor out there. (Please don't derail on Spiderman. Please.)

However well done most of the film was, though, I had two problems with it. The first stems from a very abrupt second to third act shift. The first two sections of the film had been developing the love triangle between the friends. Then, with hardly any warning, all the characters fall away from each other. It is incredibly quick and definitely pulled me out of the story. I couldn't quite figure out what had just happened to them or why they had all left each other.

The other issue actually grew out of Andrew Garfield's performance. He is so committed to the character, Tommy, who has grown up in this completely socially isolated situation. It's an incredible physical performance. He walks awkwardly, but without any concern for how he is being perceived by the world at large. He's both gawky and at ease in his own skin. It totally works, given the strange upbringing Tommy had.

The problem comes from the two actresses. They both give great performances, too. Kiera makes her character, who could come off as one-note and wildly selfish, very empathetic and understandable. Carey Mulligan breaks your heart with her arc and the ways her character grows and matures. But aside from one scene in the middle of the film, when the three of them all order lunch awkwardly, being unused to the world at large, by the time the three reconnect, both women come off as self-assured and integrated into normal society. It's jarring next to Tommy, who still comes off as being part of the fringes.

However, the third section of the film is such a wrenching, gut punch of an emotional arc that film comes close to overcoming those flaws and becoming truly great. It's an amazing human drama.

4/5 stars

The Giants. FACT.

I spent most of the last month glued to the t.v., cheering on the Giants. The coverage from over here was ridiculous. Either people were confused that San Francisco had a team (could announcers at least learn to pronounce names before going on air?) or they actively picked the other teams to win. Predictions? Oh, it'll be the Braves; they'll pull it out for Bobby Cox. Oh, it'll be Philly - they've got Halladay. It'll be the Rangers - they're having a year like they've never had before.

Well, so were we.

And while it would have been nice if we weren't coming back from the third-longest championship drought in baseball, if the last two trips to the series hadn't been utter disasters, if we had won it even once before as the San Francisco Giants, and, on a personal note, if I had been home for all of this, I couldn't be happier that it worked out this way. We've had amazing players before. We've had good teams. But I adore this team. I'm so glad that they - these crazy castoffs, misfits, freaks and characters - were the ones to finally win it all. What possible better representation of San Francisco could there be? They are weird and they are the absolute best.

Go ahead: watch this about a dozen more times.

Other things I loved about the win?
-Bruce Bochy showing the most emotion possibly ever (at about 7:08).
-Cody Ross' skip/pirouette during Renteria's home run (at about 1:45).
-Lincecum jumping out of the dugout (which Fox replayed like 8 times, and made me and my friend laugh EVERY TIME). Video here (at about 4:27).
-THIS. This is one of my favorite photos ever. It's up in my office. I also love this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one. Oh, and this one.
-I love that Obama called to congratulate them, mentioned Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, and invited them all to the White House.
-And yes, I love that after Fox blatantly continued to pander to the Bushies, they lost. The blue state beat the red. The queers beat the steers. And the faithful beat a team from a state that didn't even know it had a baseball team until two weeks ago. (Even during the series the Cowboys continued to receive more coverage in Texas newspapers). I don't care that the Rangers had never been to a series before. It's our time.

A quick note on the 'riots' that weren't. Basically they were riots as only San Francisco could have done. As one person pointed out, it was 100 people causing problems, and 10,000 tweeting it. Not only that, but you could CHECK IN at the riots on foursquare. Oh, SF. I love you so. And does it count as a riot if a mariachi band shows up?

That said, how much would I have given to be here? Bless. Look how happy we are. (Now with video!)

WATCH IT AGAIN! (I'm also quite partial to this mix here, which samples both Ashkon (twice) and this gem)

Steve Perry leads the crowd in a Don't Stop Believin' Sing-a-long

Giants' timing couldn't be better for these times

Lights Sing-a-long at AT&T park. I love Lights. It is one of my all time favorite songs about San Francisco.

The next SI cover.

Honoring the teams of the past. Aw..... Willie Mays.

The party. I LOVE the video at Yancy's Saloon.

Brian Wilson rocks. Also? Aubrey Huff had his thong around his neck during the parade today. SO SAN FRANCISCO.

A basic recap.

The first title in 56 years; "the first time any living human could ever say this: The San Francisco Giants won the World Series."

The best starting pitcher in baseball.

They Really Are Giants.

The Giants are Worthy Champions. "Meanwhile, as a baseball fan (as opposed to a Giants fan), it's really easy to enjoy this team's success. The Giants wear classic uniforms in a beautiful ballpark. Their roster is studded with fascinating players like Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval and Brian Wilson. Their manager was forced to make any number of tough decisions down the stretch and into the postseason, and nearly all of them worked brilliantly."

The party is worth the wait.

Our new Where's Waldo.

SF Giants add 'champions' to their storied legacy. Snow said, "They erased a lot of ghosts, didn't they? I've always said, beware of teams with a chip on their shoulders. Nobody expected this team to do anything. There was a lot of East Coast bias, and Fox (television) people talking about the Phillies and Texas. Everyone was curious to see how the Giants would perform on the biggest stage, and they beat 'em all."

"It's been a long time," someone said nearby.
"A long time?" Snow, said, incredulously. "It's been never!"
Yeah, about those predictions. Have you not heard? FEAR THE FUCKING BEARD!

The coverage the next day.

What the World Series Means to Me.

Hey dad... they did it.

The Beard is here for life.

Jesus. How excited are we?

Other great reactions? "It feels like I'm mainlining opium and Christmas presents when I type that. The San Francisco Giants have won the World Series. Ohhhhahhhaoooohh. That feels so danged good." (Reports of Tim Lincecum's demise...)

"I’ve had three or four different Journey songs stuck in my head for about three weeks now. I was pretty sure I didn’t like Journey before the postseason. Now it’s the soundtrack to my overactive brain." (Pre-game nervous chatter)

"the head of Buster Posey on the body of an eagle, and the head of Matt Cain on the body of a lion, and they’re flanking Tim Lincecum, who is riding a manticore and wielding a longsword made out of change-ups." (Open what tattoo are you getting thread)

I hope the party lasts through spring training. Let's do it all over again next year.

The Social Network

Tim Lincecum will be pitching again on Thursday. I will not be watching any movies for a while.

(Please let Never Let Me Go continue for another week!)

And speaking of Andrew Garfield...

I went to see The Social Network. It is as good as everyone says. If you like Aaron Sorkin's signature dialogue (and I do), you'll enjoy this. To be honest, I don't really feel that I have much to elaborate on what reviews have come before. It's not really about Facebook. It's really about friendship, greed, rivalry, entrepreneurship, and how business is changing. The writing is good, the directing is good, the acting is good. I do hope that Andrew Garfield gets a supporting actor nod. I thought he was fabulous.

I've seen several movies lately that I thought could stand to trim 10-15 minutes, but not this one. It's pretty perfect. And I liked the narrative structure that intercut the lawsuits with the actions surrounding the founding of the site.

It was weird that the CGI on the Winklevoss twins was so perfect, while the cold breath scenes were so jarring. But that was the only complaint I could think of. Well, that and the fact that women hardly figure into the film at all, which I'm sure is not true to real life. (I think Zuckerberg has a long term girlfriend and I think his right hand person is a woman.)

I suppose I'm not really raving about this one, because I didn't fall in love with it the way I did with Winter's Bone (or Zodiac or Fight Club for David Fincher comparisons). And it isn't a 'fun' movie, so it's hard to get super excited about it. But it is incredibly well done and it's surprising that a film that is so much about hacking and writing code is entertaining and dramatic. The drama between the founders and owners takes up much of the film and I did want to know where Eduardo Saverin ended up (according to Wikipedia, he now owns a 5% share in Facebook, worth $1.3 billion).

5/5 stars

What I miss about San Francisco

Am I looking at San Francisco though rose-colored glasses (nostalgia covered glasses?). Perhaps. Probably definitely. But I'll share with you this quote from a friend of a friend who moved to the city;

"This is a city full of people who really love it here. I ask almost everyone I meet, and only the ex-New Yorkers feel differently. Yes it's expensive, yes it's frustratingly leisurely for an ex-east coaster, and yes it's wicked cold. But it's also a friendly place with positive energy, it has an extraordinary exterior, and it offers as much opportunities as cities several times larger."
Aaah..... cold. *tear*

So - in no order whatsoever - here is what I miss (some of these things are not exclusive to San Francisco, but they are definitely not in Boston) :

-Guerrero’s Taqueria

-Ocean Taqueria

-Land’s End

-Davies Hall

-The Zoo

-the zoo has Aye-ayes. I'm not even kidding. Real, honest-to-god Aye-ayes. They are so amazing.

-the Academy of Sciences

-the DeYoung (Hey! It's the fifth most visited museum in the US!)

-the Palace of the Legion of Honor

-Manor Coffee Shop

-Golden Gate Park

-China Beach

-The Warfield

-the Dickens Faire

-the Giants (hey! Did you know? The Giants have won more games than any other team in the history of American baseball. Wikipedia told me so.)

-veggie dogs at AT&T Park

-the Marin Headlands

-Point Reyes (ALL of it. Stinson Beach, Tomales Bay, the entire Seashore, especially Drake's Beach, the lighthouse and Chimney Rock, and Toby's Feed Barn in Point Reyes Station.)

-Ano Nuevo and the elephant seals

-In general, being able to get out to wilderness that actually feels wild

-And the fact that most of that wilderness is chaparral

-Bay Area ecosystems. I miss black widows. I miss Brown Pelicans. I miss Monterey Cypress trees and California Live Oaks. I miss Sage and Manzanita and Yerba Santa and Toyon. I miss Scrub Jays, Acorn Woodpeckers, Turkey Vultures, California Quail, Great Horned Owls, Red Tailed Hawks and California Gulls. I miss California Poppies.

-the entire GGNRA. It's one of the largest urban parks in the world and one of the most visited national parks in the US. And it contains more endangered species than any other park in the continental US.

-Rouge et Noir camembert

-the Cowgirl Creamery grilled cheese at the Hog Island Oyster Co.

-Really, all of the ferry building

-Jamba Juice

-Louis’

-Bay to Breakers

-the view of the Farallons

-Coit Tower

-Greens

-Muir Woods

-griping about El Nino

-diversity. Actual, honest to god, diversity.

-the silent film fest at the Castro

-the Japanese Tea garden

-Pride

-Mitchell’s Ice Cream

-In n’ Out

-Girls Chorus concerts

-Chinese New Year

-sushi in Japantown

-taking the 1 down to Monterrey

-Cal Basketball and Volleyball

-Angel Island

-I actually miss MUNI. I swear to god. Get me off the T.

-FOG.

-Irish coffees at the Buena Vista

-Victorians

-local writers (yes, I realize I can read them anywhere. Shaddup.)

-the murals

-earthquakes

-being near mountains

-NO FUCKING SNOW

-the weather

-drag queens

-vegan food

-avocados

-our city motto; "San Francisco. Not smug. Just Better." (and our runner-up motto; "Back door. BACK DOOR! Step down. STEP DOWN!")

-Zante's pizza

-Actually, Round table pizza, too

-Amoeba records

-concerts at Stern Grove

-ACT and the Berkeley Rep

-pedestrian safe

-Noah’s bagels

-Trader Joes

-real, honest-to-god sourdough

-Dude! Did you know there's a trampoline park in the Presidio?!? That. I miss that.

-vegetarian friendly

-public art

-the Blue Angels

-IT’S-ITs

-people wearing leather, tattoos, vinyl, piercings, hell – TIE-DYE – I don’t care so long as it isn’t J. Crew.

-the Exploratorium

Other facts to love about San Francisco: the most college degrees per capita (yay nerds!), the thinnest city in the US, the most walkable city in the US, the best large city for young professionals, the only American city in the global top 10 happiest cities (I love the description), the second best city for singles, the third most veggie friendly city, the third healthiest city in the US, the sixth best biking city, in the top 20 Green cities, we won the NL West, actually there's a whole list that is like Who's honoring Me Now? and hey! SF is one of the least bad areas in the state for unemployment... That's encouraging for a job seeker.... Kinda...

And she's back!

Sorry to be MIA for awhile. I worked some insane number of hours last week to help out with all of Dr. Jane' s events. Luckily, I think the whole week went off very, very well, so I'm quite pleased. Plus Dr. Jane (and the wonderful Mary Lewis) came over to give me a hug at the end of the events for helping to put things together, so I was really touched by that.

In movie box office game news, I ranked 25th for the weekend of May 2nd, and 23rd for this last weekend. That brings me to 112th overall, and I think there are about 1400 players. One of these weekends I'm going to rock out and win the whole thing. I can totally do it.

I haven't seen any new films since Iron Man; I've been far too knackered. However, my brother and I got my mom a Tivo for mother's day/ early birthday, so I have a few things that are now being saved for me. Yay! (I did rewatch Velvet Goldmine, which I really enjoyed. I do think some of the music video sequences could have been edited a bit, but overall I think the visuals are just so much fun. It really made me anxious to see I'm Not There (Todd Haynes is the director for both). Plus, who doesn't love a movie about boys in makeup?)

Narnia seems to be getting good reviews. And as it has Ben Barnes, I think I'll go check it out this weekend.

Sorry most of the linkspam is all cinematical; I've been too busy to go for breadth in my movie news sites.

Cannes is on!! YAAAY!!! Blindness seems to be getting pretty good reviews. Learning that Gael Garcia Bernal is in it makes me way more interested; Mark Ruffalo might be a good actor, but Bernal is fascinating. Cinematical has a Cannes preview here. I'm most excited for the Changeling and Synecdoche, NY (I adore Charlie Kaufman).

Choke got pushed back to late September (according to cinematical)???? WTF?!?! I guess autumn might be a more appropriate time for it, given the subject matter, but dammit. I need my Sam fix!

Speed Racer Crashes and Burns. Mwahaha. Of course, I'm sure the Dark Knight will do fantastically (now that's how you run a campaign), but I'm kinda pleased that the Speed Racer fiasco hits the WB when they cut off Picturehouse and Warner Independent (that fabulous studio that released Snow Angels). As for Speed Racer, it looks like it has great visuals, but I'm saving my big screen funds for Iron Man and Prince Caspian; I never saw the show as a child, and I don't get the fuss over Emile Hirsch. I feel he's like Shia LaBouef; the studios are more convinced of his appeal than the general public (although I guess the returns for Disturbia counter that theory? Then again, it was a savvy release date; right in the doldrums of the movie release schedule).

The new X-Files trailer I really enjoy how some people (often the same ones who whine about movie trailers giving too much away) are whining that it is cryptic. It's the X-Files. I'd be pissed if it weren't. Although can I mourn Scully's hair for a moment? I think it used to be so much prettier. The long cut doesn't seem to work on her.

Oh my god; I am loving this graphic over at the NYTimes. Wheee!

Unofficial Watchmen set report.

I know this is a few days old (I've been BUSY!) but here is the really negative Indy review. And here is a sorta more positive one. My mom keeps talking about how excited she is for this one. And it was theoretically "the most anticipated summer flick of 2008." I don't get it. I'm completely ambivalent over this. Harrison Ford is old, Shia La Bouef is annoying, and no one was really clamoring for a new one after all these years. Iron Man? Whee! Dark Knight? Can't wait. Wanted? Check. Choke... well I'm going to ignore it being pushed back. Those were the movies I was excited for. Speaking of previews, I like the Chronicle's Summer Movie Preview (I must've missed EW's this year). Here's their take on Indy;

"The big picture: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Why you should care: Even at 108 years old (give or take), the hat still fits Harrison Ford. Karen Allen returns, and Steven Spielberg is once again running the show. The trailer looks fun, and any movie that features Cate Blanchett looking like a dominatrix can't be too bad. Assuming you didn't hate either of the other sequels, this one is pretty much airtight.

Why you shouldn't care: Considering how much time has passed, who will replace the Nazis as the main villain? The hippies? We're really bummed that neither Sean Connery nor John Rhys-Davies reprised their roles.

If you don't see this movie ... : Then you're a person who doesn't like filmmakers who call their movie "The Last Crusade" and then make another one anyway."

Australia Set to Screen series

George Clooney will 'Stare at Goats'.

David Cronenberg digging the Timecrimes remake? (I really enjoy the director at a Sundance party story). Timecrimes sounds like a really interesting film, although I wonder if it's ever going to be possible to see the original? It's gotten such great buzz, I'd be really interested to see it.

Top movies filmed in SF (mapped by location) I'm a little confused though. Wasn't the Maltese Falcon filmed there? Or did they film in SoCal even though it's set in SF? Doesn't part of the 2nd Thin Man happen in SF, too?

I Love You, Phillip Morris poster (and others). I find that image strangely hypnotic. Also, pastel polo shirts in prison?

Wanted goes viral.

Old Superheroes!

Trailers: The Edge of Love (yay Cillian Murphy!), City of Ember, Traitor, Waltz with Bashir, The Mummy teaser, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, August, and because I can't remember if I posted it before, Igor.

Cleolinda's thoughts on Twilight (you know, the sparkly vampire book adaptation?) make me really happy.

Also via Cleolinda; Scott Glenn to play Rumsfeld for Oliver Stone.

Audrey Tautou Still Adorable as Coco Chanel.

Stunning-looking ‘The Fall’ is totally illogical. [Ed: Looks purty.]

Deschanel, Gordon-Levitt join '500 Days of Summer.'

And: 'The Spirit' Moves to Prime Christmas Spot. "Hey! It's a Very Frank Miller Christmas! I know I can't wait for whores in my stocking."- cleolinda


OOOH! This just in; CA (re?)legalizes gay marriage! The CA Supreme Court voted to keep it! YAY!