Comments on: #91 San Francisco

By: qb

qb — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:20:12 +0000

This post keeps appearing. You must be the author of the quoted comment looking for validation of your, ahem, wit.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:50:03 +0000

And wont go to Africa=Oakland

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:49:10 +0000

San Franfreako, coined that one myself.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:17:05 +0000

There are two close colleagues from my company, two out of 30, who are originally from San Francisco. One grew up in the city itself, somewhere near the famous Straight/Ashbury intersection and the other from a rich area north of the city called Sausalito (a picturesque suburb on the other side of the Golden Gate bridge). Also have friends from N. California (Walnut Creek, Danville, Palo Alto, Malpitas, etc…) They all go through the same attitude stages.
At first it takes a while for the signature elitist SFO fog to clear but when it does they realize that Los Angeles is a much better place to live. They no longer feel victimized by having to had moved here. The same is true from many New Yorkers that are forced to relocate here but the elitism isn’t as profound, perhaps they are better prepared polyglot culture.
They then go through a stage of surrender and eventually acceptance and embrace. They still cannot admit this to the those they left behind for a real fear of banishment and ridicule for “going Hollywood”. Interestingly, however, they seem to get giddy when a SFO tourist virgin goes to visit and enjoy picking their brains on the experience when they return, perhaps to tantalize the delusional pre-renaissance memory stains in their parahippocampal corteces, but ultimately concede even to the recent traveler that SFO is a more diverting place to VISIT but L.A. is more fulfilling to LIVE.
Ironically the guy that was born and raised in the city and lived their until after college is the biggest critic I know of SFO. He claims to have no interest in ever going back, even to visit. I find that ironic because he’s a world traveler and frequently visits Amsterdam, a liberating, freedom loving city that I thought would most closely mirror (as closely as could be done on this side of the pond) his hometown.
I’m not trying to highbrow here. I genuinely wish our neighbors to the north were a more world class city, which would be oh so much closer than the next real closest destination but the San Francisco citizens should acknowledge that they are are under the influence of the perpetual huffing the municipal lacquer used as an attempt to make their city’s image shine to attract visitors, or to cover the rotting.
I am venturing to state that most Angelinos* that have been there quench their curiosity after only few hours and seldom yearn to visit again (we are experts on what is fake). I personally often forget that the metropolis even exists and it’s almost never included in my daily conversations or the conversations I often eavesdrop around me. While I was there I remember hearing L.A. mentioned all around me by patrons at the different restaurants, even though it wasn’t usually in a positive tone, a throwback to high school days when friends talked about the popular.
Hate it or love it, I personally would rather be part of a town that is envied and noticed than admired but mostly ignored and forgotten by the rest of the civilized world.

*by L.A., I’m speaking not about the dismal industrial zones or monochrome suburbs but the many jewel pockets woven indiscriminately throughout the region, you have to live here a long time to be able to identify which areas I’m talking about.

By: Le Boulevardier

Le Boulevardier — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:11:31 +0000

“I hate LA. I’ve never met someone from NorCal who doesn’t…”

I’m sure that’s true, since people from NorCal suffer from extreme samethink. Step outta line with any independent thought and all the samethinkers will barf their pre-digested baloney in your face. Gimme SoCal any day!

By: From LA

From LA — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:57:53 +0000

This is so weird to read that SFO people believe they have something on L.A. people. I hear the same thing when I travel an hour outside of here to one of the small minded satellite suburbs. I though SFO was a large city, I mean they have some sports teams which usually means it has a large population, but from the attitudes I’m gathering from this post, they don’t amount to much of anything. I don’t think people from L.A. hate people from SFO, even worse, they rarely ever acknowledge SFO. It’s one of the last places I think about when deciding where to go for a getaway. You’re the poor little forgotten redheaded step child. I’d rather be hated and envied.

By: Lone Ranger

Lone Ranger — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:00:04 +0000

I too live south of seattle. I have travelled around the world a bunch of times and used to live in the bay area for about 5 years. I can honestly say, seattle is an island of ignorance in the sea of humanity. Those hipsters you speak of only think they are hip. They are all poseurs.

By: Lone Ranger

Lone Ranger — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:53:28 +0000

Yeah, yeah, its always the white mans fault. We went down and dragged the poor bastards out of their homes brought them to the US illegally and turned them into slaves, for profits,…… and oil,…….. and war mongering. Fruitbats in tinfoil hats.

By: Lone Ranger

Lone Ranger — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:49:37 +0000

Actually illegals, or illegal aliens is a better term. In my sanctuary state to the north of you, we got ‘em all. Mexicans, hondurans, peruvians, colombians. With obamao in office, we should start a pool for when the next amnesty is going to be signed into law.

By: Tara

Tara — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:39:22 +0000

I have got to comment on your comment. As I am a student of multicultural studies…yes. I have got to say something. I think of this as so true and laughably the ones from LA are always going to say something good about LA. I have been there several times. The first time my car got chased from a street light by some thugs walking on foot brandishing a sword? What the hell do you think they were going to do with that? Show me some pretty scenery and recommend some neat tourist hot spots? Ugh. LA is not los angeles-the angels, but rather LD lo diablos-the devils. cannot stand the place, and it isn’t pretty either like N Cal. So don’t tell me something I already know about. The place sucks. As for N. Cal yes there are a lot of pricks who think they are better than everybody else and they look down on people who are economically more disadvantaged from them. They are the ones who bring curses to this beautiful state. Once it was beautiful. Now it is being ravaged, not by gays, or asians, or latinos or blacks, but by ALL people who do not know how to cultivate the beauty and resources of the land! Ugh!