The Blog

Photo Courtesy of Mumm Napa

Actually they get two new wines! And they're sparkling! 

What's the connection between the Giants and Mumm Napa sparkling wine? Awesome sparkling celebrations like the ones after the 2010 and 2012 World Series, duh. Ain't no party like a locker room party!

To commemorate those wins, Mumm Napa has made two new refreshing bubblies: the Mumm Napa Championship Brut and 2013 Mumm Napa Brut Prestige. Both are available for sale at the ball park and at sfgiants.com while the 2,012 bottles last. Bottles start at $27 and are totally worth it when you consider how awesome it would be to drink Giants wine from your SF Giants wine glasses.

The Bold Italic would like to remind you to drink responsibly and that the Dodgers don't have their own wine.

Photo by vision63

Oakland is the most exciting city in the nation. 

Yup, you heard right. Not NY, SF, or LA. Oakland. 

At least that's the word from real estate company Movoto, who put out this listicle last week. According to Movoto, the East Bay darling beat out 50 other hip cities to win the coveted prize of most enthralling hot spot in the country. 

So how do you get to be so exciting? 

Movoto judged the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States on various factors, including park acreage; percentage of young adults; low concentrations of big box stores and fast food restaurants; diversity of its population; as well as bars, museums, and movie theaters per square mile. In the end, Oakland was the winner.  

But you may want to take all this with a huge grain of salt. I mean, this is the same company that named Sacramento the best city for singles in California.  

Still, this isn't the first time that the Town beat out the City in the cool factor. Last year Oakland was ranked number 5 in the New York Times' "45 Places to Go in 2012". That's number 5 in the whole world, folks. And the first destination in North America. 

What's up with all this Oakland love? Maybe it's the influx of the young and rich moving from SF or the dangerous "thrill" of knowing that the cops aren't there to help you. If this trajectory continues, perhaps people will start calling it the Oakland Bay Area. 

We've got some good and bad news. The good news: There will be less piss on BART, and Uber is moving to the East Bay. The bad news: You still can't afford to live in San Francisco. Figure out what's going on in the bay with this week's Gimme 5. 

Photo courtesy of Yield

According to the Weather Channel, SF could get up to 84° today. That's right. 84° of pure chaos. As wonderfully weird as San Francisco is all the time, it gets even weirder when you add an unusual amount of sun. You see it all the time, someone who is normally happy eating their quinoa salad lunch in the office wants to go outside. In the fresh air! And get ice cream! The nerve.

Since the weather forecast predicts we'll have nice weather for a few more days, here's a list of the things that San Franciscans do at the first sign of sun.

1. Decide they simply can't work 

People already think no one in San Francisco works, but on the first really sunny days of spring everyone in the office mysteriously turns into a 10-year-old and starts saying things like "it's just too hot to do anything" and "how can anyone be expected to work when it's so yada yada?" I'm telling you, people love yada yada. And not working.

2. Suddenly claim to miss the fog

We always want what we can't have, especially when it comes to suspended water molecules.

3. Accidentally dress stupidly summery

Look, I understand that you bought a silly floppy hat and have been waiting patiently to wear it with your huge sunglasses and fringe sundress and live out all your wildest Vanessa Hudgens fantasies, BUT make sure it's actually the right weather and not just your impatience clouding your judgment. Otherwise, enjoy looking like Megan Draper in Hawaii, but with goose bumps and a skirt you can't sit down on Muni in.

4. Go on impromptu picnics

The answer to everything is eating alfresco. You might even say we live in San Alfresco. Just kidding that's a fucking terrible thing to say. If you must go outside, consider a spot from our list of non-Dolores Park places.

5. Instagram cherry blossoms

Or any other plant that may or may not even be blooming. Yes, they're very pretty, but can we please try spicing up our pics somehow? I know nudity is technically against Instagram rules, but it's spring and you can't be held accountable for your actions anyway, so...

There have been many a time when I have found myself aboard the 5 bus, smooshed between two other commuters during rush hour thinking, “Just who was McAllister, anyway?” Well, it turns out Matthew McAllister was a Georgia lawyer who became a prominent San Francisco attorney during the Gold Rush era. He became the first and only US Circuit Court judge for the Districts of California in 1855 (the position was abolished after he retired in 1863). Who knew? Now you and I both do.

If you've ever found yourself wondering about where SF streets got their names, you'll like a new map project created by Knight-Mozilla Fellow Noah Veltman. History of San Francisco Place Names explains the history behind some of the city's iconic streets. 

Noah has worked at a number of Bay Area startups, but his specialty is making sense out of complex information. It seems only fitting that he would provide data for such a massive historical project, but he admits, “I'd been walking/driving down these streets for years and never stopped to think about what the names meant until this project.”

His interest in history was the catalyst for finding meaning behind the street names. Still, it's been no easy task, since there are many different stories interwoven throughout San Francisco’s past and separating the truth from hearsay can be challenging. For most of his info, Noah relied on San Francisco Street Secrets by David Eames and Streets of San Francisco by Louis Lowenstein.

I reached out to Noah to find out which of the San Francisco streets and their back stories were his all time faves:

Broderick Street

Green Street

Woodward Street