Book Review Policy
The books I am currently interested in reviewing are pretty specific in content, as per the focus of this blog: non-fiction, historical, photography, and travel books (including all guide books) related to San Francisco.
I do my best to publish a review within 1-6 months from the day I receive the book in the mail. If the book is an ARC, I try to publish the review on or around the release date.
Sending me a book for review does NOT guarantee a review. I will, however, pass the book on to a friend if I cannot read it myself – usually another blogger, but sometimes not.
I review every book in which I find bloggable material for my readers, and I write honest reviews. That means that if I legitimately found problems with a book or aspects of a book I did not enjoy, I will say so. I do my absolute best to put a positive spin on my reviews and try to find something nice to say about every book I review, even if the review is negative overall (though in most cases, such books will garner no post).
I’m happy to participate in book tours and love doing giveaways. I also enjoy doing author guest posts and author interviews. I will post reviews on other sites (such as Amazon) by request, although I don’t usually do it by default.
All requests should be sent to me directly via the form below. Thank you!
Hot New Philip Bloom Video of San Francisco
More moody San Francisco; this time the streets are a little more familiar to current residents, definitely grittier, but no less gorgeous. (Philip Bloom's blog.)
(Thanks, Sonia!)
Opposite Ends of the Mobility Spectrum
Street photography this stunning and powerful is too rare. The ideal combination of subject, setting, perspective, and of course, timing.
Here I see so many things besides the obvious: purpose, ambition, and perhaps mostly, the continuum of life. Photography has done for me what years of meditation practice couldn’t. It makes me aware of the world.
Twitter Cheats for Gavin Newsom, Soon to be CA CZAR
Also, Twitter hates Republicans who run for governor in California:
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is on the suggested user list and has 1.2 million followers. His likely opponent for the Democratic nomination, Attorney General Jerry Brown, has 960,000 followers even though he is not a declared candidate and has posted the fewest tweets of all the gubernatorial hopefuls.
None of the three Republican candidates is on the list, and all have fewer than 5,000 followers.
Hey, here's a thought: Those people are lower not on the list because they have fewer followers. Oh, wait:
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said in a March posting on his blog that he and a handful of other company employees make the final choice about who will be featured, a list that has grown to about 500 people.
Ha, Newsom has no excuse for losing now. (That is so not fair.)
The Stewardship of Precita Creek
Make no mistake: Artist and self-styled "greenbelt steward" Amber Hasselbring, pictured above (pointing) along with her field-guide-clutching partner in crime (and fellow artist), Iris Clearwater, is just as enthusiastic inspecting manhole covers like the one next to her, as she is identifying a native butterfly or monkey flower. More after the jump...
Fantastic 1958 Film Footage of San Francisco
San Francisco 1958 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.
A film colorist at a local Chicago production house inherited a bunch of 16mm Kodachrome film shot in the late '50s by his grandparents.
Cars driving down Lombard Street. The silhouette of the guy smoking the cigar in the window is classic. I also like the moody accompanying music.
UPDATE: A commenter at Boing Boing informs that the song is "Alone in Kyoto" by Air.
Related book: Historic Photos of San Francisco
From Amazon
From Powell's
Original Subway Plans from 1931
Uploaded by Eric Fischer
Hot damn, look at those McAllister and O'Farrell spurs. Fun to think how different certain neighborhoods would be if this plan were enacted as drafted.
A History of El Rio
Wow. I mean, holy crap. I aspire to this level of sleuthistry. I really really do.
(via MissionMission)
Turn On The Pumps!
If you think the streets are bad after today's downpour, you should see what's going on underneath the streets.
San Francisco has an antiquated sewer system, but with a "green" twist. It's the only community in California that operates a predominantly "combined" system, which means our wastewater and our stormwater flow through the same pipes to the ocean/Bay. More after the jump...
Suck It, BART and SFMTA
SF Appeal reports on the utter generosity of SFMTA.
Is that supposed to make up for their plans to jack up rates from $55 to $60 for MUNI-only "FastPass" and up to $70 for "BART-inclusive FastPass"?
I shall happily fire the first salvo in an all-out offensive against BART if they don't rescind this plan. That's right, BART. Fear me. I will destroy you.
Lobos Creek & Mountain Lake
Fed by the same aquifer, but not directly connected, these bodies of water are special parts of the San Francisco watershed near the Presidio.
More after the jump...
Will This Again Bleed Into the Mission?
Please don't upset the Castro population's Christian sensibilities with your demonic pagan rituals.
All dummies headed there this Halloween looking for fun, you will be dispersed. Many of you will flow down the very slight incline into the Mission, where you probably parked anyway, trickling through the alleyways and sex-vomiting on the curb.
Welcome, and I love you.
Indian Occupation of Alcatraz 40th Anniversary
Although the Miwoks were convinced it was an island of evil spirits, barren and guano-coated, it's still pretty badass to think that a group led by Mohawk Richard Oakes tried to reclaim Alcatraz in 1969. They took a boat into the bay, jumped onto The Rock, and claimed it by right of discovery, declaring:
The choice now lies with the leaders of the American government - to use violence upon us as before to remove us from our Great Spirit's land, or to institute a real change in its dealing with the American Indian. We do not fear your threat to charge us with crimes on our land. We and all other oppressed peoples would welcome spectacle of proof before the world of your title by genocide.
Celebrities like Marlon Brando and Jane Fonda joined the cause and a colony was founded, but it sank toward defeat when Oakes' 13-year old stepdaughter Yvonne fell to her death.
CounterPULSE will host a talk to commemorate this bold act of defiance by the "Red Power" movement, on Wed., Nov. 11, 7:30pm. It's free.
Google Street View Blackout
Take a close look at the image above. The blue highlighted streets are the ones covered by Google Street View. "A" marks the approximate location of my house. You'll notice that a whole range of surrounding blocks are not highlighted, in addition to an adjacent area to the west. Accordingly, if you try to navigoogle off of Mission Street onto 19th Street towards Capp, or Lexington... well, you can't do that.
Dolores Park: Refugee Camp
Tam Tran is awesome.
Today I took advantage of the fantastic free walking tour organization, SF City Guides. It's officially a part of the Public Library (the guides are all volunteers) and has an interesting history of its own. I decided to take as my inaugural tour one that covers my neighborhood.
More details and photos after the jump...
The Attempted Homicide of a Sanctuary
Once upon a time in 2001, there was a tiny plot of shoreline, Muwekma Ohlone Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, named after the native people who once populated the San Francisco peninsula. Guerrilla gardeners had, for years, nurtured this vestige of unlikely marshland amidst the industrial zone near Hunters Point.
More after the jump...
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