In my next life, I want to be British

Brian & Eileen's Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

I daresay that this video is like 99.9% as good as the Susan Boyle video.

This video also made me question my almost terminal wedding phobia and also made me totally miss Freddie Mercury. I am going to have to listen to Queen's Greatest Hits all day today.

If the above statements weren't enough to make you watch this video, then you are a party pooper.

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ps.: The picnic was fun, even though it was bloody freezing and the sun never came out. But K was always surrounded by a few people, talking quietly, and I loved looking over to see her smile or laugh at times. That was mostly what I wanted, so that she felt like real people were there to meet her and care about her. I never saw the kids at all, they were on the playground for hours. They ran over once or twice to inhale some food and then to dash off again.

And meeting a few people that I've only corresponded with via email or spoken to on the phone... gosh, I love that. And Gabby drove for hours just to be with us. What a sweetheart. You have no idea how cool this guy is (well, if you read his blog, you do!). And Nancy came early and kept me company and helped me carry all of the food to the park. Thank you! And then Greg and I watched Dark Passage at my house afterwards.

And apparently the trick to the best brownies ever (no, it's not that, silly) is 3/4 cup of Nutella added to the mix. Best brownies EVAH. Sarah, you're awesome! And not just because of the brownies. I'm so glad I know you.

Now, what are the chances?

I've cried myself to sleep at night because of you. She's got you now. She wants you very badly doesn't she? She's willing to run away with you and keep on running and ruin everything for herself. But she wouldn't care because she'd be with you and that's what she wants. Well she doesn't have you now. She'll never have you. Nobody will ever have you! And that's the way I want it! You're nothing but an escaped convict. Nobody knows what you wrote down. They'll believe me! They'll believe me! ~ Madge Rapf from Dark Passage

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Some of you may already know this, but one of my favorite Bogart noirs is Dark Passage. (I've written about our Dark Passage pilgrammage to Telegraph Hill before.)

Anyway, unbeknownst to The Boy and me until just the other day, one of the cable cars that Bogart rode on in the film is still in use and is, in fact, inscribed with the details inside the cable car.

As soon as The Boy and I heard that, we were impassioned to find that cable car and see for ourselves. But how to find it? There are many cable cars and many lines.

So today, I had to take the Powell Street car to my photo shoot (and later experienced the demise of my beloved PowerShot). About halfway up the hill, I remembered about Bogie and the cable car and looked up... and wouldn'tcha know it... right there! Look!

It says H. Bogart rode on this car -- circa 1946-47 (Dark Passage)

Now, what are the chances of that?! I don't think anyone else on the cable car even saw it, up above the cable car brakeman's head. It was my crazy cool start to a very exciting day.

Damn, I love this city.

Finding Dark Passage

Our weather came back to its senses (thank goodness). The heat wave is over.

Our fog is back!

I wore a coat and boots today.

A happy San Franciscan again.

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One of the reasons I love living in San Francisco is because of the movies.

Not for the latest movies at the cineplex downtown, but to see movies where I can catch a glimpse of history in my own town.


Back in the day, San Francisco was the location of choice for many wonderful films (and I'm not talking about cheesy business like Mrs. Doubtfire and Basic Instinct).

Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, Hitchock's Vertigo, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, the classic San Francisco noir D.O.A., just to name a few...these films and many others are a visual time capsule of San Francisco.

Whenever I see one of these films, as much as I am enjoying the story itself, I am loving every exterior shot, wanting to see how much of these locations are left the way they looked in the film. Sometimes those places are gone and only film preserves their memory, but lucky enough, some locations are still left with some semblance to years past.

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I have, in more recent years, become a Bogie appreciator. I will admit that it took me longer to recognize his quiet demeanor and love him for his style than some other actors I adore. But now I love him.

I finally saw the movie Dark Passage last week, being on my to-watch list for a while. Filmed in many locations in San Francisco, including Market Street, Telegraph Hill and Fort Point, I think it's the best pairing of Bogart and real-life love (and wife) Lauren Bacall, even though the movie did not do well at the box office. But it's a true noir, with all the requisite twists and dark characters, except that this movie has a happy ending.

What turned out to be a fun pilgrimmage this weekend was to find the Malloch Apartments on Telegraph Hill, where the lovely Bacall takes in wrongly accused, recent San Quentin escapee Humphrey Bogart.

Located on a crazy steep incline, otherwise known as the Historic Telegraph Hill District, this Art Deco wonder of an apartment building stands on a cliffside overlooking the entire bay.

I pictured Bogie up there, in his hideout from the cops, with Lauren Bacall playing "Someone To Watch Over Me" on the phonograph, while I stood at street level, wishing it was all real.

And it kinda was.