Happy Pride 2011!

We capped off the end of a fun Pride Week by marching in the big parade this year. If you caught Donna Sachet’s coverage on Channel 5 (CBS), you might have wondered about a particularly adorable dancer on the SF LGBT Community Center’s float.

looking fierce!

As one of the Center’s Volunteers of the Month, Dan was invited to ride on their float. I got to walk behind in a matching t-shirt while we all danced to the techno-samba beats being laid down by the DJ in the back of the pickup truck. Dan appreciated the help of the nieces in selecting some accessories to wear in line with the float’s Mardi Gras theme.

We were excited to pick out some people we knew in the crowd of thousands –the girls at their first Pride Parade with parents in tow. After dancing for over a mile, we wandered over to the Civic Center with Kuma for some bubbly, people-watching and sun. I will not share a pic of the awful sunburn that I have today …

Troy, Dan and Kuma

Lunch of Champions

Everybody got their mac + cheese? Okay then, dig in ...

We celebrated a thoroughly energetic Champions League final (and Barcelona victory) by dining at Oakland’s newest hot spot Homeroom. Be sure to put it on your family-friendly dining map. (Almost) nothing on the menu except for versions of mac’n’cheese. Pick your base cheese and throw in a few other ingredients. Dan got the vegan mac with bacon (wait, what?).

If you want to go to a restaurant that is fresh/local/organic/farm2table AND hip, where foodies can eat like/with their kids, then there’s really no choice, is there? Just say “mac’n’cheese!”

End of an Era

I was very sad to see this the other day on my favorite pair of pants:

These trusty grey hybrid pants/jeans have been with me for over a decade now– purchased at a Marks & Spencer in London on sale.  Given that I wear these on about 60% of my work days, I have probably gotten more wear/penny out of them than almost anything else I own (besides that ratty 1997 $10 grey jacket from the Santa Fe BR that Dan *continues* to wear…).  Doesn’t make it any harder to say goodbye, though….  :-(

on the way out

He’s nice

We are acquainted with a certain Guinea Pig, who, in an effort to increase GP visibility in the World at large, and also, perhaps, thinking that there would be some VEGETABLES available as a reward, entered, with the help of his Twenty-Toed Giant, a certain Competition, held by the San Francisco Chronicle’s pet columnist, to celebrate the Holiday Season, to wit: the Second Annual Naughty-or-Nice Photo Contest.

Rowan is a guinea pig. Rowan is nice. Rowan eats his fruits and vegetables. Always.

We’ve reproduced our nibbly friend’s photographic Image, as it was published on the SFGate Website, above, but if you’re inclined to see the Original for yourself, you may go here. You will, however, have to scroll almost all the way down to the Bottom of the Post. Why? Because he (almost) won! In point of fact, he finished as one of three Runners-up, and will shortly be receiving a Gift Certificate to a GIANT pet supply Emporium. Congratulations Rowan! CARROTS and CELERY all around!

Game of a lifetime

Looks like we are due for a new topic here on SIAJ.  Let’s move on to a soccer post.  You probably know Dan has been a huge supporter of Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur for years.  So it was a dream come true to learn that his local beloved Earthquakes last year entered into a partnership with the famed North London club.  And yet another dream realized to have them come this last week to train with the Quakes and play a friendly on Saturday.  It was enough to get me to a game as well.

before the game

Quakes and Spurs on the same field!!!

Dan wore his early 2000’s Spurs away kit and I wore my “OMG, it’s so hot” t-shirt to celebrate the Tennessee-like temperatures in the South Bay.  Dan was in heaven –every incarnation of Spurs wear from the last 20 years or so was on display in the crowd.  Who knew there were so many fans in the Bay Area?

We got ready for the big game the night before by walking down to Danny Coyle’s to see living legend Ossie Ardiles hang out and reminisce about the glory days of the early 80s.  He was the inspiration for the hit song “Ossie’s Dream” by Chas and Dave which celebrated the Spurs 1981 FA Cup victory [serious 80s hair warning]:

When your inbox reaches 5,000 e-mails …

… it’s time to clean house. But beware: you’re likely to find some wonderful nuggets, like these:

From: troy *** <REDACTED>
To: Dan *** <REDACTED>
Sent: Wed, July 2, 2008 4:36:10 PM
Subject: iphone question?

OK– I just finished watched the 30 min. (!) video tour of the new iphone and of course it looks great.  I’m very interested in the apps store they mention… where you can download apps created by outside parties.  If I can download Harriet Lane or a game in which I am playing trivia against other iPhones in the coffee shop, i’m really sold.  My question:  do these apps not exist at all yet?  the webpage makes it look like a future feature… i assume current iphones are not using this now?

But wait, it gets better:

From: troy *** <REDACTED>
To: Peter *** <REDACTED>; Mike *** <REDACTED>; Dan *** <REDACTED>
Sent: Tue, July 8, 2008 8:49:58 PM
Subject: iphone selling point

well, this new program that will be available for download to the new iphone may have just sold me:

Yet another, Urbanspoon, is “a cross between a magic eight ball and a slot machine:” you shake the phone, and it randomly displays the name of a good restaurant nearby, using the iPhone’s G.P.S. and motion sensor.

Those were the days! Of course, I’ve saved the best for last:

Turkey Report

The Thanksgiving getaway moved down the coast from Mendocino to the Russian River this year. We rented a home on the riverbank in Monte Rio. Built in 1932, the years of river moisture and surely several floods have left the place with a pretty decent dank, musty smell. But other than that, it was a lovely getaway. Highlights included a functional hot tub, leftover turkey gumbo (thanks, Anne!), reading, cards, hikes on the coast and in the redwoods, wine tasting and visiting Bodega Bay where The Birds was filmed.

nearby vineyard

no, Dan's not reading about redwoods, he's reading about Otaku, post-modernism and how today's youth lack the need for narrative... He doesn't seem to yet realize he is on vacation

Peter after the Hitchcockian attack

After a week away of peaceful solitude, it was probably appropriate that we were greeted by this cacophany of city life right under our windows (the stimulus package finally reached our block):

diggin up diviz

Weekend Report

Some weekends are a lot of fun. Sometimes you grab dinner at one of Oakland’s best restaurants (aka Flora) with Wayne and Russ, and the restaurant just happens to be across the street from the Fox Theatre, where these dudes flank both sides of the stage:

And on that stage, Underworld is playing. And you get to listen to them pump out their electronic jams in a pulsating 2 hour concert from the VIP lounge (thanks to Wayne’s well-chosen credit card) on the floor of the theater. (You can listen to the first half of their most famous song as you drive along a Tokyo expressway early in the morning here.)

Sometimes you get to (have to?) work from home on Saturday AM, dispensing medical advice in your pajamas, a cup of coffee by your side. Sometimes one of you meets up with Russ and fellow Quakes fans Paul and Lyndsay, who host you for a delicious lunch in their beautiful home, before heading off together to a rotting, difficult to find and indifferently staffed stadium called Candlestick Park to watch your team lose in a dull and mostly unwatched opening game of a doubleheader.

But sometimes the second game of that doubleheader pits the all-world FC Barcelona against the favorite team of the Mexican diaspora, Chivas (Guadalajara). And you get to watch Lionel Messi and Xavi Alonso and Dani Alves put on a soccer clinic, and you’re just … stunned, really. By the artistry and inventiveness of a top-class European team (not to mention their slick passing and impeccable ball control, their precise formations and their speed) playing live, in front of you. And one of your friends wonders how he’ll ever be satisfied with Major League Soccer after witnessing that.

And sometimes you get stuck in the parking lot for over an hour afterwards. But at least you’ll “always have Barcelona.”

Sometimes you meet up with the whole gang on Treasure Island, on a sunny Sunday, to sample the wares of Treasure Island wineries, and receive exclusive barrel tastings from the friendly wine-makers at the facility, who set out aged Gouda and smoked sausages for you to nibble on while you try Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Carignane, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and Syrah. And in the process, you get a thorough introduction to the art of wine-making, as you sample the differences between the same wine aged in different barrels, etc.

And then you picnic on the tasty food y’all brought. And go home and nap for a few hours.

Like I said, some weekends are a lot of fun.

Guinea Tonic

At the behest of Celery Boy, aka Rowan Cavia, and the twenty-toed giant who cares for him, we trooped out to the SF Center to watch Jerry Bruckheimer’s “G-Force” on Monday night. A grand time was had by all. Too bad Mr. Cavia wasn’t able to infiltrate the theater, like his secret agent cousins.

The film itself was … entertaining. If you happened to be in the theater where it was playing, at the time. I’ll link to our favorite Guinea Pig’s review when it appears, but in the meantime, and as a special request, I present here the recipe for the drink that started our evening … just right.

Guinea Tonic

• 2 oz Tanqueray gin (it comes in a green bottle you know)
• 3 oz tonic water
• 1 celery stalk (as garnish, or swizzle stick, or nibbly bit)

Stir over ice in a rocks glass. Don’t forget to eat the celery when you’re done …

Rerun

We repeated the 8/8/08 entry today.  Just read previous post.  It was all the same. Oh –but our redheaded friend came along and shined this year.