Some Notes about San Francisco

1) Many of the famous skate spots, including Embarcadero (EMB) and Pier 13 (I think) now have heinous contraptions screwed into the concrete that prevent anyone from doing grinds. In a bitter stroke of irony, the city has even elected to chip chunks out of the stairs surrounding a statue at Embarco to prevent anyone from skating it. Apparently Frisco's willing to destroy a piece of architecture simply to prevent people from wearing slowly away at it, especially if they wear away at it with aluminum trucks.

2) The most scenic day spent in SF netted zero photos because I'd neglected to bring my camera out to Scott's house in the East Bay for a night of drinking and chatting about InfoSys, India, and journalism (of all things).

This turned particularly problematic when I took the BART commuter rail back into downtown and decided to walk the 10 miles along the bay/coast back to my friend's apartment in Ocean Beach. Sure, I saw everything, but no one on Facebook is going to know.

3) There was much talk of the distinction between Pwnage and "getting served." Theories included that Pwnage has to involve the Internet, and "getting served" has to involve breakdancing. We did more than watch that video of the four-year-old getting served/pwned by a Times Square breakdancer though. At one point we walked into a bar that served such drinks as "Tequila Mockingbird." DJ Takes Self Too Seriously (not really his name but nevertheless his name) was spinning and there was a projector showing people breakdancing behind him. The bar included mostly people in tight jeans who probably wouldn't have quit smoking if San Francisco hadn't outlawed it in the bars. My party and I pretty much agreed that we had gotten served, and not just Speakeasy Pale Ales.

4) While in attendance at the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, we noticed numerous things.

a) A Pride parade does not consist entirely of rollerblading conga lines wearing only tight white rayon pants. Sometimes there are also balloon-clad transsexuals.

b) You will see exposed boobs at a Pride parade, but not really any more than you'd see on any other day when you go to a strip club.

c) House music!

d) If you are me you will get kicked in the butt by a gay man, right in the crack. More than surprising, the act was confounding. Was it a sexual overture? Did he want to start a fight on arguably the most loving of all days? I shot a questioning look back at the perpetrator, and his face seemed to imply that both of my guesses were true. For better or worse, I have since resolved that, gay or no, any man who kicks another man in the butt crack is asking for a fight. Luckily for the gay community, no one else tried it.

e) Yahoo! sponsored the festivities, or at least helped by passing out purple stickers pronouncing the pride of the stickee. I wonder if those guys handing out stickers were interns or what. Whoever got assigned to that, they were probably "Just glad to get out of the office."

5) If you are in a bicycle messenger bar, it is best not to say how lame biking is. According to Alan, it is like "being in the lion's den and hating on gold fur."

6) Barry Bonds can hit a home run most of the time.

7) Knocked Up was okay but not as good as Rotten Tomatoes said. Certainly, though, not as controversial/sexist as some haters have said. It's odd to argue that a movie isn't feminist or whatever based on assumptions about the guys women will/won't fall in love with. Beautiful up and comers sometimes date and love total slobs and douchebags (believe me I know this to be absolutely true) - even guys far worse that Seth Rogen's character, who actually got his shit completely together together (including tearing through three baby books) in like five weeks I think. Sod off, wymyn, sometimes a hot chick likes a guy you don't like, even if you are, unlike her, not pretty enough to play a doctor on Gray's Anatomy.

8) If you have vaguely reddish hair, telling people to order a Red Headed Slut at the bar is almost always an okay idea.