The Daily Rumpus
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From Stephen Elliott
One of the first times I had a real conversation with Isaac Fitzgerald was a couple of years ago at Mission Creek Café on Valencia Street in San Francisco. It was a Rumpus volunteer meeting—the site had no employees at that point—and he was trying to convince me to edit a massive transcript he was supposed to be sculpting into a zippy little interview for editor-in-chief Stephen Elliott.
“FoundSF is a wiki that invites history buffs, community leaders, and San Francisco citizens of all kinds to share their unique stories, images, and videos from past and present. There are over 1,800 articles here presenting primary sources, essays, and images from history.
...moreIt’s always exhilarating to stumble on a bookstore in your own city that you never knew existed. Especially a bookstore that is curated specifically around the built environment, ecological sustainability and the intellectual cutting edge.
A bookstore that basically only carries remarkable titles.
...moreJust to let all discriminating book-buyers know: Rebecca Solnit’s new gorgeously-illustrated and highly-collaborative book, Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas is out now at all independent bookstores.
...more“It has been nicknamed “the death of fun” — the idea that a once-playful (San Francisco) populace has in recent years turned into a phalanx of Gladys Kravitz-style meddling, whining neighbors.”
It’s with a lot of trepidation that I even mention the “death of fun,” as nothing can get a San Francisco resident more riled up than an argument over the future of our city.
...moreIt’s something of a major milestone to keep an independent, used bookstore running for twenty-five years.
And that’s exactly what Phoenix Books in San Francisco is celebrating this month.
So as an Anniversary celebration and as part of Noe Valley Celebrates the Book, Phoenix is hosting some incredible authors this evening from six to eight p.m.
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It’s all happening.
For the next few days, with Canadian assistance, San Francisco continues its conquest of bad-assery.
Secret indoor gardens are the best kinds of gardens.
Architects wearing architect glasses. (Why does this exist?)
We bring you into the weekend with an official memo: TrustoCorp, The Rumpus hearts you.
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“The key is to remember a sex scene is a scene of dramatic action and psychological development. You need to pay attention to emotion and to a character’s self-awareness—or lack of self-awareness.”
Just when I was starting to lose faith in my city of choice, they go and announce a trampoline park.
The New York Times wants you to be all about container gardens.
Meanwhile, in England, Cambridge celebrated its 800th year, as all dignified people and places do, with a rad light show.
...moreI’ve been regularly attending events and film screenings at Artists’ Television Access on Valencia Street in San Francisco for almost a year now.
I’ve gone as both volunteer and audience member, in the company of wily friends or in my own, often more obtuse company.
...more“San Francisco’s Marcus Books has long been a gathering place for African-American authors such as Maya Angelou. But last year, manager Blanche Richardson faced the realization that the 50-year-old bookstore might have to close, the victim of a mix of demographics and economics.
...moreI was debating whether to link to Flavorwire’s write up on Roa’s Urban Zoo or their math-related pic of the day. But you know what, it’s Thursday so why not spoil you a little?
Being bored is going to kill you.
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Facebook employees know better than most the value of privacy.
Kurt Vonnegut’s letter home.
Abandoned wood burning stoves.
A look inside a San Francisco opium den circa 1889.
Rebecca Ward‘s tape installations.
Pickled evidence for evolution.
...moreThere is not enough nice things you can say about the incredible varieties of sexual diversity in San Francisco.
I think as Bay Area folk it’s easy to take it for granted. But all the same I find endless reasons to be grateful.
...moreIf you live in San Francisco long enough, you start to wonder: “Where the hell can I go at 3 a.m. which isn’t home or a laundromat or a massage parlor?”
This simple question might balloon into a larger, perhaps more existential one: “Why does it feel like I need money I’ll never earn, a job I hate, a house I can’t afford and friends who only want to get shitfaced in order to have fun in this town?”
...moreDan and Stephen are both going to be out of town next week. It’s ok, we’ll make it through this.
A little hometown pride: San Francisco turning toxic site into UN Global Warming Center.
These things are sort of lame, but sometimes I just can’t help myself; Mona Lisa composed of thousands of coffee cups.
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Chances are you don’t know who John Craigie is. But rest assured, John Craigie wants to know you.
One of the more anticipated summer novels of the season is also probably one of the longest, most disturbing and most intimidating: Imperial, William T. Vollman’s mammoth exploration of the U.S.-Mexican border in Imperial County, CA. Clocking in at about 1300 pages the hardcover edition will retail for $55.oo and probably take more than the rest of the summer to read, and more than two more winters to fully digest and appreciate.
...moreBack in Santa Cruz, I marveled at Ukulele Dick and Oliver Brown, maestros of ukulele songsmithing and quirk. But sometimes a song is not just a song. Sometimes it’s an extended, operatic adventure, more like an urban folk ballad, played by San Francisco musician Annie Bacon.
...moreIn the current political crisis in Iran, the boldest tool, turns out to be civic technology. Iran has gone out of its way to block the BBC, Yahoo, mobile phone networks, foreign journalists, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites during the election. What this has revealed is that the Iranian government is very sophisticated in blocking access to technology.
...moreAn interview on New American Media with writer Richard Rodriguez has a fascinating take on what’s happening to American newspapers. Using the famously provincial San Francisco Chronicle as an example, Rodriguez says, ”I don’t think the Chronicle is dying so much as I think that San Francisco is dying.”
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“I simply told myself that my daughter would get past this soon. Then it was too late.”
