And a merry time was had by all...

Last night at Tedda Hughes...

Me and Kelly Rae. Photo taken by Kay Vee, Inc.

***

What a fun event! I definitely need to have more shows. Yes, more shows indeed... just to be around so many wonderful people.

Autumn, amazing Autumn. This wouldn't have happened if not for her generosity. She has a huge, fun spirit!

This was the crowd at Tedda's at 9pm, two hours into the event. We had a great turnout.

Me and lovely Sarah and her boy, who's showing off some of the cards (mine!) she just purchased.

Me and Kelly. New artist friend whom I hope to share more with you.

What would an event be without my little Chipmonkey and her charming, handsome beau. I loved hearing people say, "Oh! So you're Chipmonkey!" I hope she gets famous.

A few holes but still more to look at. My work will be up until Sept. 20.

***

The Boy wasn't able to get photos of all the people who came, but I also want to thank Mr. N-Judah himself: Greg Dewar, Plug 1 & Plug 2, Donald Kinney, Jeremy Brooks and his lovely wife, my beauties Kelly Rae and Soad, SF Mike, Vivian, Mary, Abby, sweet Shannon, precious Rachael, delightful Kay Vee and the famous Yotsuba, my favorite magician Christian Cagigal and his beautiful lady Marilette, and my best advocate NamasteNancy. I'm sure there is someone I'm forgetting, but truly, I don't mean to.

And to all of you who couldn't make it but sent their best wishes, tweets and love... thank you! All was received and definitely felt.

***

ps.: If anyone has some photos to share, please let me know.

Despite the heat...

... San Francisco was the coolest city on the planet last night, thanks to Sir Tom.

***

I did NOT take this picture. Kudos to The Boy, with his little Canon Powershot. He did a great job!

My photos turned out really poorly and the video-- well, let's not even go there. All in all, Tom had a wonderful set. I have decided that if I ever hear "What's New Pussycat" one more time, it won't be too soon, but all the other songs... whew!

What do they put into the water in Wales? Are all the men in Wales that sexy?

***

For all of you who don't have weekend tix to Outside Lands tonight, come see us at Tedda's for entertainment and hugs. It's my showtime! xoxo

night chess

my photo offering before bed.

xoxo

The 7x7 Shout Out for Saturday

Of course it's too tiny to read here. But this is about the show! 7x7! Yay!

Click here to read the real deal.

Thank you, Kristin!

My inbox is getting interesting.

HI JULIE, JUST FINISHING UP THE BLONDIE TOUR. SEE YOU IN SAN FRAN. REGARDS, CB

***

I'm sorry, but even if I never meet another Rock and Roll Hall of Famer in my whole life, this has got to go down as the coolest (shortest) email I've ever received.

I better take some goddamn good pictures next week. Eeek!

What They're Seeing

Plug 1 getting that perfect shot in the Tenderloin.

Or perhaps the joy of trying is enough for him?

***

One of the things I enjoy most about the SF Flickr community is its generosity. I have found a real spirit of camaraderie amongst a large group of individuals who all find it possible to encourage and praise each other's work while combing the same streets of the city.

Perhaps it's because we all appreciate and reflect to each other the city that we love in a myriad of ways. We're extensions of each other but still individuals with our own styles and perceptions.

***

I feel especially fortunate to have met Plug 1 and Plug 2 through photography. Many of you locals already know them from their popular blog, What I'm Seeing. Spending time with the two of them out of doors, each one of us searching for that next great photo op for all of us to share, is a day of memories that I'll smile about for a long time.

What I've also seen in watching those two together is a sweet San Francisco love story. A love story with the city and also with each other.

I hope you'll enjoy their photo shoot and their story here.

UPDATE 11:15am: Here's a nice plug from the Plugs! Thank you!

Now You're Invited!

To see my photos at Tedda Hughes! Or just stop by and say hello.

***

I had to hang the stuff up first before I could really tell you about it.

Q: How many girls does it take to hang a picture?

A: One that knows what she's doing.

That girl, however, wasn't me.
Don't let the picture fool you.

That girl was my darling Chipmonkey.

She got the bright idea to lay everything out on the floor before putting it on the wall.

Look how dedicated she was to preserving this historic moment!

Chipmonkey even made me look good!

Thank you, little Chipmonkey!

***

So, if you can come to Tedda's, besides a hug from me, there are several other artists' works to enjoy, you can have a glass of wine and a snack, see a performance by Miss GAPA 2009 and maybe even witness a little fire spinning. Seriously.

You should come.

xoxo

***

August 29
7-10pm (although it sounds like the fun -- ie., performance -- starts at 8pm)
Tedda Hughes
1623 Polk Street
San FRANcisco!

This bitch is buzzin'...

Yep, that's me.

***

There's a lot of things twirling around in my world just this week. Leaves me a little giddy, to be honest. After glowing reviews from Beth Spotswood and Kristin Luna, my trifecta of insanely flattering praise is complete.

Thank you, Kate Kotler of bitchbuzz.com!

I'm a Woman to Watch! YAY!

***

Not to stop there, I just finished creating the brand new Magic Christian band website, and I'm pretty damn proud of it. Not only am I getting to take photos of the guys, but I'll be their webmistress, blogger, facebooker, twitter and all-around social media girl. Pretty funny considering where I've come from lately, but I love working with Paul and Cyril and I'm going to do whatever I can to help their band really take off.

Click on the photo and see the new site.

The guys keep talking about sending my photos to Rolling Stone, so of course I keep singing that song in my head. Adam says I need to watch Almost Famous again. I think I will if my next shoot with the drummer and the bassist turn out good.

And to think that just two days ago I was running around with a knife and a hammer and swearing my head off. I'm glad things took a turn for the better. (Thanks to those of you who pitied me or laughed at me.)

***

ps.: I swear I'll update you on my photography show soon. The install is on Sunday and then it will feel more real.

xoxo

oh, fuck it all.

I am trying to get my mother effing prints framed today for my show at Tedda Hughes at the end of the month. A normal person would think this would be easy. This should be my happy day... my photography show is coming up!

But no. It's not easy.

***

The frames don't easily accommodate the mats I've picked, which means I am using a butter knife and a hammer (don't ask) to make things work.

Once I get the mother effing print and mat inside the frame, it's looks like I've also framed a pubic hair, wedged between the mat and the glass. It's not a pubic hair but it might as well be. Now I can't get the effing frame apart. [Note to self: do not use the wool rug as a staging area for framing.]

I blow into a wedge between the glass and the mat to see if I can dislodge the hair, but now all I've done is fog up the glass. And now there's dust in there too.

Fuck me.

I should at least put on a bra and brush my hair. I did break a nail with the hammer/butter knife combo but I have not given up yet.

And then, to top it off, I have unwittingly pissed off someone in Greece.

Hi Tangobaby (blogger buddy)

I don't follow you anymore (don't cry).

So, no other complains from me anymore.Actually I regret so much,that I've sent you those e-mails and commended on your posts.

I shouldn't done that.It seems you dislike Greece. I'm sure.! Only if you knew what Greece/Greeks are for the world.

You should learn...

I know you'll believe me when I tell you I have no idea who this person is.

The fact that I am low carbing it right now and have absolutely NO Ben & Jerry's and NO chocolate stashed away is so completely unfortunate and if was I wasn't still running around with a knife and a hammer, braless, I would go outside to get some Cherry Garcia, but now I'm worried what might happen next.

I probably shouldn't even be writing this.

Please send chocolate or a professional framer.

The Adventuress

Does this look like the kind of girl who just got her Arctic Ocean Polar Bear Ice Swimming Certificate?

Well, she did.

Meet Kristin, the most beautiful and charming professional travel writer ever. When she's not running marathons, camping in the Sahara or dodging icebergs, she calls San Francisco her home. I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet Kristin through my photography project: she's someone I'm definitely going to love getting to know. For those of you who are armchair travelers and suffer from frequent bouts of wanderlust (like myself), you'll want to bookmark Kristin's travel blog, Camels and Chocolate, for regular infusions of wonderful travel stories, writing and insights.

The girl is truly an inspiration on many levels.

UPDATE 11:34am: Wow. Here's Kristin's post about our photo shoot day. It's way better reading than mine!

***

You can read more about Kristin on i live here: SF.

ps.: Yes, she really does have a Polar Bear Ice Swimming Certificate.

pss.: This particular photo was taken in the window of Tedda Hughes, who graciously let us frolic in her boutique. You'll be hearing more about Tedda as that is the location for my photography show coming up at the end of the month!

May I admire you?

Fondling cucumbers in Chinatown.

***

When did I discover Beth Spotswood and develop my true-blue girl crush? Perhaps it was when I read this quote in the sidebar of her blog:

"I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this." ~ Thomas J. Grasso's last words, d. March 20, 1995 ... Executed by injection, Oklahoma.

I still laugh when I read that.

I think what I admire about Beth is that she'll write stuff that I would only admit in my dreams. I love that she's fearless that way. I also know that I can only read her blog if I'm not drinking hot liquids or in a place where I'm not supposed to burst out laughing.

***

When Beth contacted me to be a part of i live here: SF, of course I was flattered but was also a little intimidated. Not because I didn't think she'd be great to hang out with (she was) but on the whole, I'm pretty shy... it's quite a different situation to you meet someone you've only admired from afar.

We had a ball in Chinatown taking photos. This was one instance when all of my hours and photography love of Chinatown really paid off. All of my explorations, favorite little alleys and murals: we used them all for her photo shoot. I made Beth sit on park benches in Portsmouth Square, nested amidst elderly Chinese men and women who alternately smiled, ignored and scowled at us. We got yelled at in a market for taking photos. Beth bought us both barbequed pork buns.

When I asked Beth "Why Chinatown?," she confessed her long-time Pretty in Pink infatuation. That just happens to be the only John Hughes' movie I've never seen so I still don't get the connection with Chinatown, but I'm happy to say that this shoot was just as stupendously fun and cool as Beth is. I hope it lived up to her Pretty in Pink daydreams. I think it did.

I hope you enjoy it too. And I haven't even told you about the story she wrote. But I'll let you read that for yourself.

***

Beth's story and photo shoot can be seen here.

And here's what she wrote about ME, which I'm loving this morning...

Shake Some Action

I cannot begin to tell you how much fun I had today. These are the first, preliminary shots I took for the band Magic Christian (Cyril Jordan on the left and Paul Kopf on the right). We're scouting locations for a shoot when the rest of the band arrives for a gig here in September. They're recording their new CD and I'll be joining them to photograph the rehearsals, the show, and hopefully their new CD cover! (I told them if I don't have a job by December, I'll go with the band to Spain. Maybe I won't try too hard to find one...)


Long long long story short, Cyril is one of the founding members of the Flamin' Groovies, one of the quintessential 60s SF bands. His new band, Magic Christian (bonus points to you who know where that name comes from) will be touring in Europe this fall but they're playing here on September 4 at the Great American Music Hall.

You'll be hearing a lot more about this band, as we're all now pretty fond of each other. We had a blast driving around the city looking for potential photo shoot spots once the whole band is here in September. All of my meandering and walking has really paid off as they loved some of my locations, and we have more practice shots to take throughout the city.

I even got them to visit my Dog House! They loved it.

***

Here's a clip of Magic Christian playing "Shake Some Action," which is one of the Flamin' Groovies biggest hits.



And here is the original Groovies playing "Roll Over Beethoven" and Cyril is the dark-haired guy on the guitar.

Sometimes it takes so little...

...to make a person happy.

Sometimes I wonder why it is so hard for those of us who have so much?

Meet Chewie, Little Fluff and Patricia.

If you are around Polk Street @ California, you might see them on the corner. Give them a dollar or two if you can. Stop and pet the cats for a moment. They love company and a kind word.

More later but I'm so dog tired. I wish I had someone who could take dictation and type my blog for me. Any takers?

***

Long story very very short, I was in a boutique today with someone who will be featured in i live here:SF very soon. She said to the boutique owner that I'm a photographer and the woman said, "Hey, you want to have a show here?"

Just like that.

Could it really be that easy?

Yes. I guess it can.

More on that too if there's something to tell.

Chinatown, My Chinatown

"The United States of America and the Emperor of China cordially recognize the inherent and inalienable right of man to change his home and allegiance, and also the mutual advantage of the free migration and emigration of their citizens and subjects, respectively for purposes of curiosity, of trade, or as permanent residents." ~ Burlingame Treaty of 1868

I've taken a few photos in Chinatown, some from last Saturday and some from this morning that I'm really smitten with and glad I captured. I'm low on words right now, so perhaps these images will speak for me.

The rest of the burgeoning Chinatown collection is here.

Wherever your red shoes take you.

Hey lady, he calls to me from his seat on the bench. He squints in the morning sun. I like your shoes.

I look down at my filthy red sneaks and say thanks.

I hope wherever your red shoes take you, you have a great day, he exclaims confidently. Then he sees my camera.

And that you get some great photos today!

How did he know I already had?

***

I usually wake up between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning. Even though I don't have a job to go to at present, old habits die hard.

I used to try to leave the house early before work so I could take a few photos before the boring grind of the office day began. Just spending even a half-hour outside the office felt like a very important time, even if I only got one good shot out of it. I felt like I had accomplished something important just for me.

So it dawned on me yesterday that I am literally wasting dawns. I could be up and using that amazing morning light and instead I'm lazing around.

So this morning I decided to change all that.

At 6:30am, I took the 71 Haight-Noriega all the way down Haight Street to Fillmore. Got off at Fillmore, walked to Oak to Laguna and then walked all the way back Oak, to Masonic, to Haight and through the park.

And here's what I saw. All that before the day began, and was I glad.

Early morning on an empty bus but still uneasy neighbors.

Thanks for the ride, 71.

I love the thinking about how many mornings these old houses have seen.

No one will steal your trike if you park it over your door.

This one's shy.

But now they're having a bit of a chat.

I loved the yellow bee man and his matching goldenrod taxi speeding by.

I call this the Dog House. This is the first time I've gotten a good shot of who's guarding the stoop.

I like that Tom Johnson, Sr. used so many tacks to keep his name on.

This is one of my i live here: SF postcards, which I stealthily leave around town. No one's contacted me yet, but I keep pretending they're like Golden Tickets in Wonka Bars, and someday someone will say they found my postcard lying around and thought it would be fun to see what my project's all about.

I wonder where she went.

Life is UR canvas. U R the artist.
As seen in Golden Gate Park.

Wherever your red shoes take you.

***

Red shoes or not, I hope your feet took you somewhere interesting today.