The Blog

Although my new pup Benny might negate some of my usual cat fancy frenzy, friends still know I love me some pussy. So I wasn't too surprised when multiple pals emailed, tagged, and posted news of the upcoming Oakland Internet Cat Video Festival with messages like, "Hey, this seems up your alley." Why yes, it does! And no, I can never haz too many cute kitteh videos, so bring it on.

This event – happening Caturday, May 11 – is presented by the Great Wall of Oakland, a group that hosts outdoor movie screenings in Uptown Oakland. The Oakland Cat Vid Fest will take place at West Grand and Broadway, and will not only feature videos, but also vendors selling cool cat shit (not literally), cat-tivities, and a "save a kitten" stage.  

Tickets for the Oakland Internet Cat Video Festival are $10-$75. Sure, that's more than it would cost you to cue up YouTube videos in the privacy of your home, but all proceeds from the fest benefit the East Bay SPCA. Think of all that good you'll be doing for adorable cats and dogs in need. See? Who said being cat crazy is a bad thing?

 Last Saturday night was the Hollywood Babylon Dance, brought to you by Dusty Stax and The Bold Italic at the Verdi Club and I can still hear the brass section and taste the delicious tequila. 

The Verdi Club was dressed up like an old Hollywood starlet and there was even a white Hollywood sign and a red carpet outside the door for the perfect photo-op. Ladies arrived in their finest vintage frocks and coats and men looked dapper in their old-style suits, Oxfords, and fedoras. 

The party started right away with a tasting of three different tequilas from Casa Herradura, plus a free margarita. Just the thing to get everyone in the mood for a night of dancing. 

Upstairs in the ladies lounge, Stephanie BK of Team Top Coat was sprucing up the gals with custom designed nails featuring everything from bows and sparkles to stripes and polka dots. The powder room turned into a fun space to hang out and get dolled up throughout the night. 

Downstairs, the music was pumping. Dusty Stax's fantastic 11-piece Gold Star Soul Revue live band (which included the lovely Golden Girls), took the stage to serenade the audience with slow ballads and foot-stomping classics. Needless to say, everyone was shimmying and shaking to the beat. 

During breaks from the dancing, folks headed over to our trusty photographer Gabriel Wheeler and his infamous photo booth, where he captured everyone in their gorgeous glory. 

At the end of the night, my feet were sore and my face was flushed, but the Hollywood Babylon dance was definitely one to remember. 

Photobooth pic by Gabriel Wheeler; all other photos by Isla Murray 

Photo by Sebastiaan ter Burg

San Francisco is home to a booming tech community that seems like an easy scapegoat for some of the city's biggest problems. Tech workers tend to get a bad rap for being transplants or for driving rental prices sky high. Still, I'm not convinced that the animosity between some San Franciscans and their tech neighbors is all due to housing competition – I think it's also because tech people can make us feel dumb.

 I don't think tech people mean to make the rest of us feel stupid. There might be a few douchebags doing that, but most of the time we make ourselves feel stupid. In the hopes of helping you feel less inferior, here's a list of the reasons why you might not feel smart around tech people:

1. You don't really understand what they do

But you have a feeling their office is nicer than yours. You have a vague understanding of something called "coding," but you refuse to learn more about it in order to keep your creationist theories about the internet from being threatened with facts.

2. They're new at being cool

Maybe not all people who work in tech were uncool for most of their life, but a lot of them were. This explains why they might not have gotten the hang of it yet and are modeling their behavior after typical '80s bullies. You might also want to be careful not to mistake awkwardness for an attitude.

3. You are stupid

Don't rule this out as a possibility.

4. You think there's a tech mafia

I know it seems like everyone knows each other and you're not completely wrong. But even if there were tech mafia meetings, it doesn't mean that a bunch of founders are sitting around and making fun of you for being an investment banker... probably. Besides, no one's stopping you from forming your own Illuminati style club. Intern mafia anyone?

5. They wear glasses

Sure, this is a generalization, but if TV has taught us anything, it's that people who wear glasses are smarter than you and you should always react to them defensively. 

6. Tech people adopt early

And you use Hotmail. So of course they're going to have a leg up on what's new. Instead of getting butt hurt about how extremely tech unsavvy you are, why not pick a tech person's brain about how to use the next up-and-coming gadget? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Before we got down at Saturday's Spring Formal, we decided to host an intimate party with backyard dinner specialist Risa Lichtman at the Good Egg's headquarters in Potrero Hill. The space, filled with long wooden tables and cozy benches, was the perfect to host a meal. Risa and her team prepared a four-course feast focused on seasonal spring ingredients.

Each course was paired with a variety of Thorny Rose Wines. 

The meal started with Risa's version of an egg drop soup, but prepared with fresh asparagus and shitake mushrooms. The second course seen above was a Josey Baker bread salad with artichoke hearts, peppercress, and burrata. 

Both the salad course and the entree were served family style. The braised quail shown above was served with an herbed couscous, garbanzo beans, fennel, dried fruits, and wilted Tomatero Farms spinach. The meal finished with a luscious Star Route Farms carrot cake with Sierra Nevada cream cheese frosting. 

Everyone left full and happy after an absolutely delicious meal. 

All photos by Andrew Dalton. 

Last Thursday, The Bold Italic and the California Academy of Sciences teamed up for an amazing Nightlife at the Academy! We centered the theme around our Microhood block parties, where we pinpoint one or two blocks within a neighborhood and highlight all of the awesome offerings there. For Thursday, we worked with companies from past and future Microhoods: 3rd Base (Dogpatch), Cloud 9th (Inner Sunset), MishiPot (Mission/Potrero), and Holkus Polkus (Lower Polk). The folks at Mosey created an interactive map for our event, to help attendees navigate through the booths, lectures, and exhibits at the Cal Academy. 

The evening had an amazing turnout. DJs Tristes Tropiques and Nihar of Haceteria kept the beats going all night. 

All our vendors presented amazing information about their offerings. From our 3rd Base Microhood event, Chocolatiers Poco Dolce handed out sample of their delicious confections; DodoCase showed off their handcrafted and locally made iPad, iPhone, and laptop cases; and clothing company Triple Aught Design featured examples of their original fabrics that repel water and provide protection from extreme climates. The Workshop Residence, seen above, brought light installations crafted by Johanna Grawunder. They also had felt pieces from Jennifer Morla, reusable "Thank You" bags, and Dirk Van Saene tableware inspired by The Flintstones. 

KQED, representing the MishiPot Microhood, had a screening of a new documentary about the Mission. And KQED POP bloggers brough along a giant Big Bird to take photos with. 

Hella Slingshots from the Holkus Polkus Microhood made everyone nostalgic for their childhood with hand-built, old fashioned slingshots by Adam Gray. 

There were also presentations by Misdirections Magic Shop (Cloud 9th) and a lecture from sustainability consultants Saatchi + Saatchi S (MishiPot). Social Kitchen & Brewery (Cloud 9th) had tastings of their delicious hand-crafted beers. 

On top of all that, the Cal Academy had a few offerings of their own, including exhibits on earthquakes, the human odyssey, and a special microhood up on the living roof.  

All photos by Angela May Chen.