2010 September | The San Franista

SFcan, Meet Español

I feel fortunate that online pub The Bold Italic let me run wild with another local idea and that they once again paired me with such great graphic talent. Onto the story as I pinch myself…

Two days after returning to San Francisco from a vacation in Barcelona (SF’s newest sister city!) I am sitting in Spanish class for the first time in eight years. I got through college and a few years of adult life without needing to know a second language, but the frustration of not being understood while abroad finally had me realize that it was time to learn Spanish.

Luckily, short of El Paso and a few other cities, I’m hard pressed to think of places that offer as many public resources en Español than San Francisco. I don’t have valid excuses in a city with so many individuals and retailers communicating in Spanish to not learn the language. Aside from pride, that is. I frequently feel embarrassed just trying to order at El Metate in my Midwestern accent.

After my trip, I become convinced that the best way to overcome my Spanish-language shyness is total immersion. I want to start dreaming, understanding, even swearing in the language, and the sooner the better. I set out to create a Spanish-speaking experience at home in SF by finding a language school in my neighborhood, taking yoga en Español at my local studio, and eating at places where I can practicing rolling my r’s.

Rue Hits Virtual Newstands

I’m especially happy for pal Anne Sage today as the shelter magazine she’s been working hard to develop, Rue, is live at last. Give it a look (and a long one, too–the photos are fantastic). Featured bloggers SFGirlByBay Victoria Smith and LovingLivingSmall’s Rebecca Orlov look, well, divine in the colorful spreads. Congrats are in order.

Yoga Aid Comes to SF

I’ve long been looking forward to the Yoga Aid Challenge, an international set of fundraisers intended to generate support for organizations like Off the Mat, Into the World, as it comes to SF. This Sunday I’ll be taking part in what I’m told will be “an extreme 3 hour public yoga practice” to benefit the Africa Yoga Project, a group that offers free teacher training and teaching jobs in Nairobi. Join me (in person or in spirit) at Justin Herman Plaza on the 19th. If you’re interested in providing a bit of financial support (and we’d be ever so grateful), donations to Africa Yoga Project can be made here.

Local Celebrations >> Design + Radio Stories

This humpday I’m already bracing myself for Thursday’s goings on; most notably, Catapult Design’s annual SF party and Youth Radio’s book party to celebrate its book “Drop That Knowledge,” now in print by UC Press. You can hear co-author Lissa Soep on KQED’s “Forum” tomorrow morning discussing youth radio stories, and stay tuned for designer-humanitarian Catapult co-founder Heather Fleming in conversation with Women 2.0.

Book Report >> Klein’s “27 Things to Know About Yoga”

I wish that writer Victoria Klein’s new yoga book was published when I started my first teacher training. Although the guide (now on a “blog book tour”) is intended for beginners, a read through “27 Things to Know about Yoga” shed light on a few components and Sanskrit pronunciations that were most confusing when I started studying. With her straightforward style, we learn that “a scholar named Patanjali wrote the first inclusive guide on [yogic concepts], titled the Yoga Sutras,” in a humble tone that can be rare when it comes to books on the subject. Klein, a former Yoga Tree instructor locally, covers how to keep class costs down; the fact that yoga is a spiritual and mental practice, not a religion; and why practitioners shouldn’t push themselves to pain.

I’m a big fan of her description of different types of yoga, including selfless service (which includes a mention of the Art of Yoga Project, the Bay Area-based group that takes yoga into juvenile detention facilities) and Bhakti, the path of devotion. “Whether you believe in God, Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, someone else, or no one at all, everyone can practice bhakti…the key element is a deep, unwavering emotional connection to our version of the divine.” Lovely put.

The Rumpus > Monday Night Football

Cold Monday mornings in SF during the summer months can stink. So I’m grateful that local lit champion The Rumpus is celebrating September with readings by Creston Lea, Katie Crouch, Rives, and Daniel Alarcón tonight. There will be much to love: The Make-Out Room, food from The Lady From Empanada, and a performance by Chicken John. Tickets are cheap too. Expect Rumpus editor Isaac Fitzgerald to play host (and for yourself to feel a little better).

Happy Birthday FF.

Because a) their gallery is doors away from my own; b) they chose The Luggage Store as one of their venues for a soiree tonight; and c) they’ve been integral to Bay Area arts coverage, it’s with much hurrah that I wish FecalFace a happy 10th.

Pop!Tech Announces Social Innovation Fellows

I’ve never been to Maine. But I’ve heard good things: lobsta, “Sarah, Plain and Tall,” and, very soon, Pop!Tech’s annual conference in Camden. Today the cross-section of people and projects announced their October lineup of “Gulf Oil spill responders, conservationists, bad science debunkers, artists and filmmakers.” This year’s group of Social Innovation Fellows includes SF’s own Leila Janah of Samasource and Kel Sheppey of HIV treatment delivery program Wild4Life. More coverage to come, and in the meantime, Studio 360 host’s Kurt Andersen Pop!Tech talk about Americans as amateur (or immature) spirits is below to whet your intellectual appetite.

In Conversation >> Polyvore’s Sukhinder Singh Cassidy

Seasoned exec Sukhinder Singh Cassidy joined online style community Polyvore as CEO this year after leading Google’s international efforts in 18 countries. I talked with her at Pier 38 recently about looking for company interviewees’ internal champions and finding a discipline to excel at. The conversation was part of Women 2.0’s series with entrepreneurs and was shot by Alley Pezanoski-Browne.

Sonoma Welcomes You, Scribe Winery

A Big Apple-based pal turned me onto Scribe, a Sonoma winery whose vineyards stand where an industrial turkey farm was the most recent occupant. Once founders Kristof Anderson, Andrew Mariani and Andrew Avellar cleared the buildings and debris (no small feat), a cellar and hacienda have had room to shine. When I visited over the weekend, a group of Cal architecture students were on hand to plan a set of packable and reusable houses for migrant workers that will be tested on the property later this year. The winery is currently “soft opened” for tastings and will be hosting its first wedding this weekend. Mazel tov.