If you go to San Francisco...

Things I learned on our trip to and from San Francisco:

• The northern most milepost on Interstate 5 in California is 796. SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY SIX! That's more than twice the length of the highway in Oregon, and just short of three times the length of the highway in Washington. That is a seriously long highway.


• While driving along the desert-like landscape of California (even outside of San Francisco I was surprised to see) is best driven with Josh Ritter as the soundtrack, even though he's actually from Idaho.


• At 4:30 a.m. driving in the dark, as much as it seems like listening to Music For 18 Musicians by Steve Reich would be a good idea, it's really, really not a good idea. I was listening to Sufjan Steven's Illinois album and noting to myself how much he took from Reich, and thought "I bet Reich would make some GREAT early a.m. driving music!" Really it just reminds you that it's 5 a.m. and you've been driving for four hours already.


• When we crossed into California at about 5:30 a.m. I scanned my iPod through the song title listings and listened to everything beginning "California." Surprisingly I only had four tracks that met this criteria (and was emberassed that I didn't think to make a more complete play list with tracks INCLUDING but not beginning with "California"). Of the four, three of them technically take place OUT of California and discuss either heading to, or longing for California. Joni Mitchell really just needed to leave Europe. It didn't make her happy.


• Dispite my stereotypical beliefs, the Golden Gate Bridge is not visible from every entryway into the city. Also, I was unable to convince my Frisco companions that we needed to drive into the city and across the bridge in a red convertible.


• I suck at haggling, and didn't realize I would be forced to do so while in town. We just wanted to grab a map, so we stopped into the first photo/tourist shop we saw. I thought as I walked in "If they have a credit card minimum cost, we'll just by that UV lense I need for my camera, and that only costs like $14." The guy pulled it out, said $50. I said "Um, no." He said he'd give it to me for cost, $24, and then (foolishly) pointed out that it was identical to the UV lens I had on my other camera lense, which I remember clearly buying for $14. I said no again, and Megan started digging for cash. Trying really to just not buy the lens at all he goes "Okay, okay, you're tough, but I'll give it to you for $20, but I'm making a loss." Uh-huh, whatever... but I'm sheepish and bad at saying no, so I buy it because I needed it anway. Mumblegrumble.


• You don't find Jack Kerouac Alley in San Francisco. Jack Kerouac Alley finds you. We split off from our bechildrened tourist mates in the evening so they could go home. We wandered about, and I decided that I really wished I'd looked up where the alley was before we left. We rip out the map, look on the index. It says it's in C14 on the map. WE are in C14 on the map, and about two blocks away from the site.


• Despite Megan's extensive background knowledge of all things musicals it took some negotiating to convince her that San Francisco's Chinatown was of note and worth visiting. About a block in she goes "Oh, this is a pretty famous Chinatown isn't it?" One with an approximate daily miracle count of 100 million if I recall correctly.


• Did you guys know that there was some 1980s and 1990s family television sitcom based in San Francisco? I sure didn't! But in my idiotic excitement to see all the landmarks of my favorite San Franciscan family, I actually misidentified at least one location. It be a crab sign at Fisherman's Warf. I found another crab sign I thought was it. It was not, and I am now sad. Also sad to know how close we came to THE Full House house and didn't seek it out. Blame it all on lack of preparation.
  

Photos of our trip can be seen here:

If you go to San Francisco...

The Quilt, Part 7

It's PIECED TOGETHER! Check that hot quilt action!

Best part, sitting in a rocking chair with the quilt over my lap and thinking about the old days, back when people had scruples and you could only get berries in the summertime. Those were the days!

Next step, acquire a big old sheet of denim and some batting, then I do the QUILTING! WOOT! Still got to figure out how to do the quilting, but I've got a few ideas.

I'm pretty excited that I actually saw the project through like this!

The Quilt, Part 6

There it is in all its pieced-together glory. Each square is sewed, and now I just have to put the whole thing together, which has me the most nervous of all. There's a few pieces that are going to cut it close on their seam allowances due to this, that or the other complication.

I'm paranoid that things won't line up quite right. But I'm mapping out how to piece everything together without having to do long stretches of seams. For some reason breaking the task down into shorter seams makes it all seam less daunting.

Once I've done that (probably won't get to it until Wednesday at the earliest) I'll start getting demin together and designing the back portion of the quilt, which will be amazingly easy by comparison, since it'll be a collection of identically sized squares.

Next I need to select the batting to lay between the top t-shirt part and the bottom quilt part. I'm going to select something fairly thin, because I really want it to feel like t-shirts and jeans, so I can't have too much fluff.

Off to bed!

Summer Cinema 2008!

It's been a great year for movies so far. At the end of the year I might have actually seen enough to produce a legitimate "Top 5" list, whereas most of the time I'm catching up with the oscar winners from last year.

But within the course of one week I hit the theater three times (and unlike some people I know, it wasn't to see Batman three different times), and I was surprisingly pleased on all occasions. Although after a week of move watching, I decided to forgo seeing Guellermo del Toro's Hellboy II until a later date.

Wall-E

I've gotten to the point where I turn my brain off when I see a computer animated film by any other studio. Nothing stands up to the extensively meticulous animation and the stories that are funny and engaging without any fart jokes.

And this one goes a step further, because for the first thirty minutes of film, there's no dialogue. I've heard praise and complaints about this portion of the film. I personally loved it, and actually liked the opening portion of the story better than when the humans entered the picture.

Only complaint, in a film about a robot cleaning up all of earth's garbage and an centuries-old effort to re-grow plan life on earth, I wish there had been some sort of moral, or takehome message.

The Dark Knight

Duna duna duna duna duna duna duna duna BATMAN!

It's one of those movies I knew I would love going into it, merely because I'm easily blinded by my favorite comic book characters put on the screen.

We'll put it this way, after the TERRIBLE X-Men: The Last Stand I kept going back and forth. It was terrible, but it had COLOSSUS! But it was TERRIBLE! But... but... it had Colossus!!!!

But what makes this one good is how it goes leaps and bounds above ideas merely touched on in other superhero cinema tragedies. I don't care how much they say Spider-man suffers in the film, or how much public danger is presented on the screen in that franchise - it was all done with a wink and a nod, and a smile on Toby Maguire's face.

This story was done with a stomp on your foot and a fist in your gut. I wanted an intermission, just to shake off the story a little bit, take a deep breath and head back in.

Prince Caspian

Last time I read Prince Caspian, I threw the book across the room. It just pissed me off. I couldn't get past the blatant sexism and the beat-you-over-the-head metaphor.

The film, which far and away exceeds its predecessor, takes several key characters and points in the film and twists them just enough to make them awesome.

The focus of the books, in my opinion, has always been far to focused on the ever-faithful Lucy and the brave-hearted Peter, ignoring doubtful-Edmund and a somewhat air-headed Susan.

Lucy remains ever faithful, but they present the risks of being nothing but good-hearted. Because no matter how nice you are, a bear might eat you. Peter's braveheartedness is transformed into stubborn bullheadedness. He's really seen as an antagonist to thoughtful consideration and reason.

Susan by contrast is seen as far more practical, and much more emotionally driven. Her thoughts and concerns come across more like the one person saying what was on everybody's mind.

But Edmond, my boy Edmond. He gets to take the role of the brains behind this whole thing. Peter's taken the same "High King" stance, but Edmond is always in charge of seeing the plans out, organizing the people and ensuring the safety of everyone concerned. Every time he walked on the screen, I wanted to cheer.

Added bonus: Eddie Izzard voiced Reepicheep, and the film ended with a song by Regina Spektor.

On to Hellboy II next!