ViiJamin

SF Accordion Festival

2006-06-05T09:49:00.003-07:00

Did you know that the accordion is the offical instrument of San Francisco?

I tried to get this one under the ourmedia file size limit, but there was simply too much cool stuff to show. YouTube it is, then. In any case, I was pleasantly relieved to see lots of young people there. Not only does this make it easier to blend in, but they also tend to be more vigorous dancers.

Big thanks to the amazing Skyler Fell of Accordion Apocalypse for being such an excellent interviewee. Big thanks to Tom Torriglia of All Things Accordion for driving the festival.

The performers, in order of appearance are:

B.A.D. Girls!

2006-06-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

The Bay Area Derby Girls are our local all-girl flat track roller derby club. The two original teams, the Oakland Outlaws and the S.F. ShEvil Dead, recently welcomed two new teams, the Alcatraz Escapees and the Treasure Island Gold Diggers. This was shot at the newbies' first exhibition bout.

Modern roller derby, for those of you unfamiliar, is like a cross between a relay race, rugby, and a burlesque. Unlike 70's roller derby, the bouts aren't choreographed, so all the bumps and crashes are teeth-jarringly real.

I've been to other B.A.D. Girl bouts, and they have all been totally sweet.. Check their website for upcoming events, or, if you're of the XX persuasion, consider signing up.

The music is "Anything Goes" as sung by Ramona Davies, from a remarkably well-preserved 78 in the public domain, available at the internet archive.

SF Go Club

2006-05-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

First rule of SF Go Club? Talk about SF Go Club!

I saw a posting on the internet about a "giant game of go" and I just had to see it for myself. These guys were really nice. Free lessons on Tuesdays at 7:30 at the corner of 8th and Anza.

Also, thanks to Michelle at Zeum for letting me walk around for free.

Restaurant Review: Feel Real Cafe

2006-05-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

So, this is an idea I stole from Chuck Olsen of Minnesota Stories. Probably only the first of many ideas I will steal from Chuck. Anyway, the idea is video restaurant reviews. Go to a restaurant with a camera, order stuff, and talk about it.

I sort of cheated this time, since I've been to the Feel Real several times before, and rather like it. Does that make this a commercial? No money was exchanged, so let's just call it an endorsement.

The Feel Real is on the corner of 45th and Judah in San Francisco, CA. Go there.

The music was Trip Hop Reconstruction (Vincent_Vega rmx) by Vincent_Vega11 from ccmixter.org.

Mark Grim talks about art and creativity

2006-05-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you just know it? My first video is just a few k over the max filesize limit that ourmedia.org allows. I had to upload this at YouTube. Oh well, I'll just have to be more careful next time.

Mark Grim is a friend of mine from the neighborhood, and we've had several good philosophical back-and-forths on the nature of creativity and finding a vision. You can find out more about his art at markgrimsart.com.

The music was Samba Do Aeroporto (pra gringo rmx) by Gerador Zero, and you can get it free from ccmixter.org.