gogo

ms yvon asked pretty politely for folks to stop posting that sort of thing, and I don't think her request was out of line. Also, if I recall, it did pretty much stop after she asked, didn't it? So no worries there. The stuff that we were asking to have out of the thread, and taken to PMs, was the back-and-forth crap on "no offense" "of course you meant to offend", etc. It was a personal argument over the way people were expressing themselves, and it was carried over from a previous argument, and it threatened to drag down the level of the discussion even beyond the depths that had already

Yay babies, and congrats to all the Kotches!

Oh Judy, that's beautiful. . Happy day!

What a funny coincidence! That's my name, too!

My sister and the kids and a bunch of us will be doing this. Since about half the crowd is severely claustrophobic, it should be great fun.

We don't have HBO, but I saw some amazing documentaries at the Full Frame festival in Durham, in April. If you get a chance to see any of the following (film descriptions from the Full Frame website, */**/***/**** ratings by me ), definitely check them out: Forbidden Lie$ *** The life and deceptions of a con artist, Norma Khoury, who wrote a "non-fiction" best-seller about an honor killing in Jordan. 34x25x36 (short) ** An inside look at the Patina V Mannequin Factory, where model women are sculpted with perfect proportions. The Siamese Connection ** Quirky and unpredictable, this fil

Two of the most effective organizations in SF, as far as helping people get off the streets, off drugs, whatever, are the St. Anthony's Foundation and Glide Memorial Church. Both "faith-based", but neither is big on pushing the religious agenda along with the assistance, as far as I know. And of course, the People's Temple was great for a while there, too...

Could everyone please go read ms yvon's post in the soccer thread, please? She makes a lot of good points: If you think something's maybe going to be offensive, think long and hard about whether you really want to post it. Try to keep within spitting distance of the topic at hand. Stop baiting each other. Is that really so hard?

And I guess there's nothing I can do, short of locking this thread, to make you take this crap to PMs?

Because you had responded to the post in question, which in turn could likely lead to another post in the same vein... That's all.

John Flinn: Confessions of a coca fiend

I'm in agreement with all of the above. Drink a lot of water, just in general, and if you're buying bottled water, try to check that it's not bottled straight out of the tap that's dripping right outside your window at the hostel. Try to underschedule, rather than overschedule. A friend of mine always mocks me for my "clipboard of fun" that I make up for every trip, but the COF always includes a few days with nothing at all planned, to allow for just wandering around, lingering over meals, etc.

Truth. Not just the plugs that make your plugs fit into their outlets, but an actual voltage converter. Or, if that's not an issue, enough batteries to last you. I've only traveled to Europe (and a very short weekend in Tokyo), but batteries are standard sizes; you can buy those when you get there, if you don't want to pack them, just be sure you're set for those before you set off on the hike. And I always bring the biggest possible memory card for my digital camera, because I hate having to fumble around with those. I believe that using foreign ATMs is actually going to give you a pret

Well, I wasn't going to give any hints on what was winning... There are over 300 titles on the list so far! And it's still anybody's ballgame, so keep those votes coming in. For anyone who hasn't voted yet, or has posted a list in this thread but hasn't e-mailed it, please go back and read the first post. Thanks to all for playing!

Yay! What a cute couple!

Much love to you, Mende.

No worries! See above, I just like to bitch. And I know who most of you are, anyway.

Eric is indeed the awesomest! Happiest of happy days to you, Mr. Beltmann!

They've added a few more acts (Toots & the Maytals, Rogue Wave, The Walkmen, Mike Gordon, Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet feat. Bela Fleck, Vienna Teng, Howlin' Rain, Everest, The Dynamites and Carney), but still no stage schedule. Grrr. http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/artists/

Yeah, I'd like to see a real Frames show again one of these days.

Currently in my bag for streetcar reading: And on hold for vacation reading next week: (Again! To keep the other niece company, and because she wants to see the show.) (Again! But this one is just for me. ) This one is a sequel/companion to Cane River, which I read last year for San Francisco's One City One Book program. I've found some great books through that. Also in the pipeline, but I can't be bothered dealing with the links: Ask the Dust, John Fante Then We Came To the End, Joshua Ferris Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee and Walker Evans What It I

Also: Looking back at that now, that's a nice little binge!