A recent thread on Reddit evolved into a lively discussion about the rites of passage that one must experience to become a true San Franciscan.

“Seeing a tree full of parrots,” “being bought a shot of Fernet,” “having your car towed and never forgetting it,” the thread starts.

The post sparked more than 700 comments, and a good portion focused on frustrations with the city’s public transit system, from watching the bus drive right past you while you’re waiting at the stop to a bus driver suddenly telling everyone to get off and giving no reason why.

But there are just as many comments pointing to the city’s delights, such as “day drinking at Dolores Park on a Sunday,” “eating crab with garlic noodles,” “watching the fog roll in in summer” and “walking on the beach in February in shorts.”

During a time when the city is struggling to revive itself and grapple with its biggest problems (a lack of affordable housing chief among them), the post spurs locals to consider the city’s positive traits and reasons people choose to stay — mainly, the open- minded culture, the natural beauty and the quirky charms.

A common thread was San Francisco’s food scene. The city is known for its cuisine, which honors the fresh produce grown in nearby valleys and, even more so, the people from all over the world who’ve settled here, bringing along with them their family recipes. Part of becoming a San Franciscan is exposing yourself to a United Nations of cuisine, and the Reddit thread has some specific things you must try, such as avocado ice cream at Mitchell’s, dim sum for breakfast and tortas at 2 am at El Farolito, a Burrito spot in the Mission District.

There are also many smells that you need to learn to recognize, like the putrid aroma of urine on BART and the smell of Muni brakes in a tunnel, as well as appreciate, like the musty smell of vintage houses.

Becoming an official member of the city also requires attending certain events such as Hunky Jesus on Easter at Dolores Park, a Giants game (“getting sloshed in the bleachers”), movies in the park (a “fave” was “Mrs. Doubtfire” on the big screen outside at Alamo Square), Bike Party/Critical Mass, “a free day” at California Academy of Sciences and Exploratorium (even better, just become a member) and, of course, Bay to Breakers, though you have to get drunk and nap in the panhandle on the way.

Many of the posts suggest that in order to become a local, you have to adopt a certain mindset, coming to terms with the high cost of housing, developing patience with public transit delays and thinking any destination that requires you to cross a bridge is far .

While the thread doesn’t spell this out exactly, it implies that anyone who moves to San Francisco must go through a certain set of experiences — both celebrating certain joys and enduring certain struggles — to fully understand the city. You must get a ticket for not turning your wheels while parked on a hill, cry on Muni, experience “intestinal grief” from downing a giant burrito, have your bike stolen, have your car windows smashed. Other suggestions included:

– “Wandering into a random show and having a great time.”
– “Having a great conversation with someone who’s completely different than you on the surface.”
– “Reading/watching’ Tales [of] the City’”
– “Bacon-wrapped hot dogs in the Mission after leaving a bar at 2 am”
– “Walking through Castro and walking by a completely naked dude with his pecker wrapped in foil.”
– “Taking a visitor to the pirate store [826 Valencia] to support local teachers and student writers.”
– “Trying to decipher Frank Chu’s sign.”
– “Posters from the Fillmore.”
– “The organ player at the Castro.”
– “Sitting on your stoop and saying hello to a regular passerby.”
– “Watching a sunset in the Sunset.”

What rites of passages do you think someone must experience to become a San Franciscan? Email agraff@sfgate.com.

The post Reddit customers break down the San Francisco rites of passage appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

I Was Better Last Night (nonfiction/memoir – hardbound) by Harvey Fierstein

This poignant and hilarious memoir bares the inner life of this eccentric nonconforming child from his roots in 1952 Brooklyn, to the experimental worlds of Andy Warhol and the Theater of the Ridiculous, to the gay rights movements of the seventies and the tumultuous AIDS crisis of the eighties, through decades of addiction, despair, and ultimate triumph. Mr. Fierstein’s candid recollections provide a rich window into downtown New York City life, gay culture, and the evolution of theater (of which he has been a defining figure), as well as a moving account of his family’s journey of acceptance.

glory (fiction – hardbound) by NoViolet Bulawayo

From the award-winning author of the Booker-prize finalist We Need New Names, a blockbuster of a novel that chronicles the fall of an oppressive regime, and the chaotic, kinetic potential for real liberation that rises in its wake, glory centers around the unexpected fall of “Old Horse,” a long-serving leader of a fictional country, and the drama that follows for a rumbustious nation of animals on the path to true liberation. Inspired by the unexpected fall by coup, in November 2017, of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president of nearly four decades, Bulawayo’s bold, vividly imagined novel shows a country imploding, narrated by a chorus of animal voices who unveil the ruthlessness and cold strategy required to uphold the illusion of absolute power, and the imagination and bullet-proof optimism to overthrow it completely.

Who is Maud Dixon? (fiction/mystery – paperback) by Alexandra Andrews

Florence Darrow has always felt she was destined for greatness, but after a disastrous affair with her married boss, she starts to doubt herself. All that changes when she sets off for Morocco with her new boss, the celebrated but reclusive author Maud Dixon. Amidst the colorful streets of Marrakesh and the wind-swept beaches of the coast, Florence begins to feel she’s leading the sort of interesting, cosmopolitan life she deserves. But when she wakes up in the hospital after a terrible car accident, with no memory of the previous night dangerous—and no sign of Maud—an idea begins to take form. This is as fun a read as it is suspicious, with seemingly endless twists and turns and two quirky, yet believable, completely drawn lead characters. If you thought you couldn’t enjoy a mystery, this is the book that will teach you otherwise.

Upcoming events

Sunday, April 3 @ 4 pm (in-store/Corte Madera – free) Greg Sarris, author of Becoming Story: A Journey Among Seasons, Places, Trees and Ancestors
For the first time in more than twenty-five years, Greg Sarris—whose novels are esteemed alongside those of Louise Erdrich and Stephen Graham Jones—presents a book about his own life. In Becoming Story he asks: What does it mean to be truly connected to the place you call home—to walk where innumerable generations of your ancestors have walked? And what does it mean when you dedicate your life to making that connection even deeper? Moving between his childhood and the present day, Sarris creates a kaleidoscopic narrative about the forces that shaped his early years and his eventual work as a tribal leader.

Monday, April 4 @ 5 pm (live-online ticketed – $28) Elizabeth Alexander, author of Trayvon Generation
From a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author and poet comes a galvanizing meditation on the power of art and culture to illuminate America’s unresolved problem with race. In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 and following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Elizabeth Alexander—one of the great literary voices of our time—turned a mother’s eye to her sons’ and students’ generation and wrote a celebrated and moving reflection on the challenges facing young Black America.

Thursday, April 7 @ 5:30 pm (live-online – free) Raquel Salas Rivera (him/his) author of Antes que Isla es Volcán
From the National Book Award-nominated, Lambda Award-winning poet: a powerful, inventive new collection that looks to the future of Puerto Rico with love, rage, beauty, and hope. Raquel Salas Rivera’s star has risen swiftly in the poetry world, and this, his 6th book, promises to cement his status as one of the most important poets working today. In sharp, crystalline verses, written in both Spanish and English versions, Antes que Isla es Volcán (Before Island Is Volcano) daringly imagines a decolonial Puerto Rico.

https://www.bookpassage.com/

Published on March 24, 2022

The post High of Your Stack – Suggestions from Ebook Passage 3.24.22 – San Francisco Bay Instances appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TYLER, Texas (KETK) — Tyler ISD had a helping hand in passing new legislation that will allow high school students to be licensed as a Tradesman Limited Plumber after taking the required amount of CTE plumbing courses in high school and subsequently passing the state board examination .

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This revolutionary opportunity for students was made possible by Texas House Rep. Matt Schaefer, who added the amendment to HB 636 during this year’s legislative session. Now, the bill is law and students can easily be trained in plumbing in high school and immediately join the industry upon graduation.

“We cut the red tape that had closed doors for students to learn the plumbing trade in public schools. Now, the plumbing trade will open to thousands of students who will be able to turn that training into success immediately. Restoring real-world skills training to students and giving them more options to succeed is good for all Texans. Tyler ISD was instrumental in helping me pass this law. We are seeing interest in starting plumbing courses in public schools all over Texas, and we are excited.”

Rep. Matt Schaefer

Gary Brown, executive director of college and career for Tyler ISD, was also instrumental in the passage and implementation of the new law. “I testified in Austin at a committee hearing in support of Rep. Schaefer’s legislation,” Brown said. “Once the bill became law, I worked with Rep. Schaefer’s team, Texas Education Association (TEA), State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC), State Board of Education (SBOE), and the Texas State Plumbing Board of Examiners (TSBPE) to develop the implementation plan.”

Prior to the bill’s passage, anyone seeking a plumbers license was required to complete a minimum of 4,000 hours working under a master plumber to be eligible to take the test. However, under the new program created by the bill, Tyler ISD can provide classroom training and work-based learning experiences in high school.

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Brent McDonald, owner of Rub-A-Dub Plumbing in Tyler, also tested in support of the legislation. McDonald is on the Tyler ISD Career and Technology Education (CTE) Executive Advisory Board that provides industry insight and gives feedback on curriculum, instruction, and equipment to Tyler ISD.

“We are thrilled that these future plumbers will be stepping into a high-demand, high-wage career,” said Brown. We will offer four levels of study with classes taught by a Master Plumber.”

The new CTE plumbing program will be open to students beginning in fall 2022.

For more information, contact Jennifer Hines at Jennifer.Hines@TylerISD.org

The post Tyler ISD performs hand in passage of scholar plumbing training invoice appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Jay’s gay agenda (YA Fiction) by Jason June

Jay Collier knows one thing for sure: As the only gay boy in his small rural Washington town, he’s an anomaly. While his classmates are constantly discussing their heterosexual relationships, Jay can only dream of his own firsts. From debut novelist Jason June comes a unique story that is as funny as it is moving. It’s a sex positive story about the complexities of first dates, first love, first breakups, and first heartbreak. The focus of Jay’s Gay Agenda is how to be true to yourself.

The death of Vivek Oji (Fiction) by Akwaeke Emezi

When dealing with a distant father and an overprotective mother, Vivek suffers from disorienting blackouts. In addition, he often experiences moments of pathetic loneliness when grappling with the complexities of not being able to be overtly gay in an oppressed Nigerian community. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, Vivek finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. His closest bond, however, is to Osita, the worldly and open-minded cousin who disguises a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens on multiple levels, Osita’s secret gives way to a breathtaking act of violence in a moment of heady freedom. The Death of Vivek Oji is a quick read that is completely engaging. This is the impressive sequel to the novel Freshwater by author Akwaeke Emezi (they / them), which was awarded the New York Times Notable Book.

Paradise: A city’s struggle to survive an American wildfire (Non-fiction) by Lizzie Johnson

On November 8, 2018, residents of Paradise, California woke to a gray-speckled sky and gusty winds. Soon the campfire was overhead, devouring an acre every second. Less than two hours after the fire broke out, the city was on fire, with residents locked in their homes and cars. The next morning, 85 people were dead. As a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Lizzie Johnson was there when the city of Paradise burned. She saw the smoldering rubble of a historic covered bridge and the beloved Black Bear Diner and stayed long after, visiting accommodations, hotels and makeshift camps. Based on years of on-site reporting and countless public records, including emergency calls and testimony from a grand jury investigation, Johnson delivers a report of the campfire every minute. This ranks as the definitive first-hand account of America’s deadliest forest fire in a century. It astounded the nation and shook a community to the core, but this compelling news coverage delivers an infinitely important cautionary tale of a formidable journalistic talent.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday November 10th at 1pm (live online) – Hitha Palepu, We Speak: The Lessons of the Life of Kamala Harris

We’re Speaking offers inspiring lessons about living, working, and overcoming adversity, starting with Kamala Harriss’ standard-breaking rise to Vice President of the United States. Kamala Harris is one of the most formidable political figures in our country, New Age, as the first – but not last – black and Asian-American vice president. After spending her entire career smashing glass ceilings and influencing the next generation of young women, Harris has completely redefined what it means to be a woman in politics. In We’re Speaking, Palepu combines insightful stories from Harris’ unique biography with tactical advice that will teach you to own the power of your crowd, realize and live your ambition, and develop your unique voice and style. Best of all, We’re Speaking will make you feel like you’re following in Harris’ footsteps – blowing even glass ceilings while living the life of your dreams!

Wednesday, November 10th at 5.30 p.m. (personal event / ticket event at the Dominican University) – Lidia Matticchio Bastianich in conversation with Noah Galuten, A Pot, a Pan and a Bowl. From the popular television chef and bestselling author comes a collection of her favorite recipes for tasty, straightforward Italian food that uses just one pot or pan (or two). Don’t miss this companion cookbook to the public TV series Lidia’s Kitchen: Home Cooking. Lidia Bastianich – Doyenne of Italian Cooking (Chicago Times) – makes Italian cooking easy for everyone with this new, beautifully designed and user-friendly cookbook. Here are 100+ homely, easy-to-make recipes that take fewer steps and fewer ingredients (not to mention less messy pots and pans) without losing any taste.

Saturday, November 13th at 7.30pm (Live / Ticket event at Masonic Auditorium, SF) – Katie Couric in conversation with actress Leslie Jordan
Katie’s new memoir Going There is an absolutely compelling and extremely honest story of her rise to the top of the broadcasting world, complete with high highs and heartbreaking lows. This fall, she’s visiting cities across the United States with some very special celebrity guests for incredible conversations that will inspire and excite you.

https://www.bookpassage.com/

Published on November 4, 2021

The post High of Your Stack – Suggestions from E book Passage – San Francisco Bay Occasions appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

confusion (Fiction) by Richard Powers

Astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life across the cosmos as he single-handedly raises his unusual nine-year-old Robin after the death of his wife. Robin is a warm, friendly boy who spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals. He is also expelled from third grade for slapping his friend in the face. As his son becomes more and more restless, Theo hopes to stop him from using psychoactive drugs. He learns about an experimental neurofeedback treatment to strengthen Robin’s emotional control, during which the boy is trained on the recorded patterns of his mother’s brain. With its lofty descriptions of the natural world, enticing vision of life beyond, and account of the wild love of a father and son, Bewilderment is Richard Powers’ most intimate and moving novel.

Ordinary girls (Memories) by Jaquira Diaz
This is both a subtle and haunting portrait of a young girl’s family and social struggles as she navigates her sexual identity. Growing up on residential projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Díaz found herself caught between extremes. When her family broke up and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was supported by the love of her friends. When she longed for family and home, her life was turned upside down by violence. As she celebrated her Puerto Rican culture, she found no support for her burgeoning sexual identity. From their own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico’s history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyrics. Writing with raw and refreshing honesty, Díaz triumphantly outlines a path out of desperation towards love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be.

The engagement: America’s quarterly battle for same-sex marriages (Non-fiction book) by Sasha Issenberg

On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that government bans on gay marriage were unconstitutional, legalizing same-sex partnerships in the United States. But the road to this momentous decision was much longer than many know. In this definitive account, Sasha Issenberg vividly guides us through the unexpected path of same-sex marriage from the unimaginable to the inevitable. It’s a story that begins in Hawaii in 1990 when a rivalry among local activists sparked a series of events that forced the state to justify excluding gay couples from marriage. At the White House, a president signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which made the matter a national matter, and his successor tried to get it into the constitution.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 21 at 1 p.m. (online) – Dante Stewart with Robert Jones

In his new book Shoutin ‘in the Fire, Dante Stewart lends breathtaking language to his reckoning with the legacy of white supremacy – both the kind that hangs over our land and the kind that is internalized at the molecular level. Stewart uses his personal experiences as a vehicle to regain and reinvent spiritual virtues such as anger, resilience, and memory, and examines how these virtues could function as the work of love against an unjust, loveless world.

Tuesday, October 27th at 7pm (in person / ticket at Dominican University) – Douglas Tallamy
The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Important Native Trees reveals what is going on in oaks month after month, highlighting the seasonal cycles of life, death and renewal. From woodpeckers gathering and storing hundreds of acorns for food to the beauty of jeweled caterpillars, Tallamy illuminates and celebrates the wonders that happen right in our own backyards. It also provides practical advice on planting and caring for an oak, as well as information about the best oak species for your area. The nature of the oaks will inspire you to appreciate these trees and to care for and protect them.

Saturday, October 30th at 4 p.m. (online) – Achy Obejas and Carolina de Robertis
Boomerang / Boomeran by Achy Obejas is a unique and inspiring bilingual collection of lyric poetry written in bold, largely gender-free English and Spanish, dealing with immigration, displacement, love and activism. As captivating as it is innovative, lively, moving and full of wit and humor, The President and the Frog by Carolina de Robertis explores the resilience of the human mind and what is possible when danger threatens. The story that takes us between a gloomy prison cell and the lush gardens of the President extends beyond all boundaries and invites us to rethink what it means to lead, dare and dream.

https://www.bookpassage.com/

Published on October 21, 2021

The post High of Your Stack: Suggestions from E-book Passage 10.21.21 – San Francisco Bay Instances appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

7 year old boy drops 3 stories from hotel window in RosevilleA 7-year-old boy is in critical condition after falling three stories out of a window in a Roseville hotel. Renee Santos got more on the investigation.

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