The Blog

There's plenty to see and do on first Fridays in Oakland, but my top pick for what to check out tomorrow evening is "So Young," an art show at 1-2-3-4 Go! Records, featuring works by two talented Oakland artists: Jon Stich and Shannon Shaw. 

If Jon's work looks familiar, it might be because you've seen his striking watercolors gracing stories on The Bold Italic. Aside from him work for us, I've become a huge fan of his, especially his drawings and paintings of celebrities like Chris Farley, Tupac,  and Jacques Cousteau (What I'd pay to be in a room with all of these people together... or I guess, their ghosts). 

If Shannon Shaw's name sounds familiar, it might be because you've heard her powerful pipes leading garage rock band, Shannon and the Clams, or performing at our formal dances at the Verdi Club with Dusty Stax.

Wanting to know a bit more about the show than the Facebook invite could tell me, I reached out to Jon to get it straight from the horse's mouth.

TBI: What's the theme of the show? Why is it called "So Young"?

Jon Stich: Shannon came up with the title, and we are kind of taking different approaches. The crux of the work is portraiture of iconic figures, some who have had their prospective 15 minutes of fame run up way too soon, some who have sadly died young, and some of whom just spark up nostalgia that our generation would have fond or disdainful memories.  The work juggles humor, tragedy, and absurdity – mostly absurd in my case.

TBI: What types of pieces are in the show?

JS: The pieces are all on paper, some in color, others in pen and ink.  Most of mine are dinosaur drawings with iconic human heads. The first one I did was called "Mr. T-Rex", and everyone since then has made less and less sense name-wise. At this point I'm not quite sure what to name them, I just have fun doing it. 

TBI: How did you and Shannon get paired together to do this show?

JS: Shannon and I are both CCAC Illustration Alumni [now CCA], and though we weren't in the same class, we met through some mutual Oakland art friends. 

TBI: How are your works similar to Shannon's? How are they different?

JS: Shannon and I both create works that are realistic in some ways, yet loose in others.  I think the fact that we both went through the illustration department at CCAC around the same time shows. We have some Barron Storey and Dugald Stermer influence for sure.

TBI: What piece are you most excited about in this show?

JS: Neither Shannon nor I have seen each others' work before hanging the show, so I'm just excited to see what she came up with. I've been drawing '90s celebrities on dinosaur bodies nonstop now, so looking at anything other than that will be a breathe of fresh air. And her Steve Irwin piece is fantastic.

TBI: Anything else you wanna share with?

JS: Guest appearance by Jeff Goldblum!* 

*In illustrated form.

About six months ago, I was mugged in broad daylight at Mint Plaza. My story is a cautionary tale of sorts. I hope it serves as a reminder that you should consider what to do if you’re attacked before it happens instead of learning as you go and royally screwing it up, like I did.

I had just finished a horrible first day at a new job and was waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up at our usual meeting spot in front of 54 Mint. As a rule, I try not to use my iPhone in public places, but the longer I sat there, the more comfortable I felt killing time on my phone and looking up less and less frequently.

When I eventually looked up from my phone, I noticed a guy in a Giants hoodie walking up from behind me. I suddenly felt anxious. I got a weird vibe from him, so I lowered my phone to my lap, but it was too late. The next thing I knew, the man was in my face. “It’s a nice night for you to give me your phone!” he said and grabbed my phone. It wasn’t until later that I realized that this was just about the lamest thing a mugger could ever say. I still wonder if it was his first time.

I had assumed that if I were ever faced with a fight-or-flight scenario, I would surely be the flying type – I was wrong. My shitty day at work and my impatience for my ride turned me into that person who has way too much confidence from taking karate classes at the YMCA (except I’ve never even done that). I planted my feet, grabbed the mugger by the sweatshirt, and yelled, “No, that’s my phone! Give me my fucking phone!” That’s when he punched me in the face. Four or five times.

After he stopped swinging, he started running away with my phone. He made it about 15 feet, then yelled, “Here bitch, you can have it!” and threw it at my feet, smashing the glass screen. I don’t know if he was worried that the people around were finally starting to notice that something was up or if he checked my phone, saw I had no games, and rage-quit his own robbery.

I was so surprised to get punched that I actually didn’t even think to put my arms up around my face. Pro tip: if you’re ever getting attacked, you should act like one of those flailing inflatable tube men. Unfortunately, I acted like Kristen Stewart.

I had a bloody nose, two shoulder bruises, a bump on my right temple, and a neck scratch that was bleeding. It took me a minute or two to realize I was crying. I was shocked at how intensely the tears were gushing from my face. A fancy lady with a giant Louis Vuitton bag helped me collect my scattered and slightly bloody new-hire papers. I cried on her leather jacket, and she got me some napkins. I don’t know if those two things are related.

Another person came up to me and asked if I knew the guy. I resisted the urge to ask why he didn’t help me, whether I did or didn’t know the assailant. To be fair, the incident happened really quickly, but I was shocked and mad at the people around for not offering any help during the incident or even yelling “Stop!” Another hot tip: try and travel with another person – a screamer, if possible.

After getting some ice from the nice line cooks at 54 Mint, I went home and called my mom. She said all the things a mother should say, including that I should call the police, which I hadn’t done, because technically, the guy didn’t steal my phone, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to identify him. But I ended up calling the police just because my mom wanted me to. The dispatcher told me she’d send someone over right away since I was involved in an assault case. I realized at that moment that I should have called sooner in case cops had been nearby.

Looking back, there were a lot of things I should have done differently. Aside from the fact that I finally had the opportunity to punch someone in the face without any moral dilemma but totally choked, I realized that I should’ve given up my damn phone without a fight. The police officer who wrote Craigslist’s “Tips for Clueless People Who Get Mugged” knows what he’s talking about when he says, “Give the friendly mugger what he wants. Don’t talk back or fight” and “CALL THE COPS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.” The call to your mom will probably be less scary for her if you’ve already filed a police report.

In the end, I learned a lot of other things from this experience. For example, identifying people is hard, and not everything is videotaped. CSI lied to us. I also found out that just because it’s daytime in a familiar place doesn’t mean you can completely let your guard down. Don’t believe me? Check out this adorable map of crime in SF. There’s a reason why the SFPD’s very first tip for robbery prevention is “Use all of your senses to be aware of your surroundings at all times. Pay close attention to suspicious activities and persons. Carry yourself with confidence and alertness.” The next one basically says put your fucking phone away. What are you – stupid?

Illustration by Jon Stich

Photo by Calamity Photography

For better or worse, San Francisco is home to a myriad of different tech people and some of these tech workers are bound to fall in like with non-tech peeps (at least the ones who aren't going straight for the Silicon Valley prostitutes). I'm not saying straight tech guys are bad at meeting girls, I'm saying everyone is bad at meeting girls. Maybe if we went around being up front or direct about who we're interested in, more of us would get laid. Since we don't do that, here's a list of ways to decode if a tech guy likes you.

1. He views your LinkedIn on the regular

If you're like me and you don't want to shell out for a premium account to hide whose profile you've viewed, LinkedIn can start to feel like OkCupid's cute conservative cousin.

2. He asks you to be in his promo video

Congratulations on your promo video level of attractiveness and/or awesome personality. Sometimes tech guys will cast a lady as their significant other because the mandatory party and picnic scenes just seem to call for that. A word of caution: a well staged baguette or good looking cheese board can be sneakily seductive. Everyone wants to live in an Anthropologie catalog. Everyone.

3. He gives you early access

Ooh baby! If a tech guy tries to show off their new app that shows the weather and your ovulation through some beautiful color spectrum, homie might be tryna smash. But if he gave you access because you entered your email seven times, he's probably just looking for users.

4. He gives you a company t-shirt IN THE RIGHT SIZE!

FACT: The way to a woman's heart is through tri-blend tees. I think the idea is, if he can't be on your boobs at least his logo can. If he is excited for you to be seen in his start-up's shirt he likes you and/or your rack.

5. He buys a domain that includes both of your names

Do I hear creepy wedding bells? This sign that a tech guy likes you is slightly more fanboyish than the rest, but if things do work out you'll be glad you've got MarkandAnnaForevs.com all locked up.

6. He favorites and retweets you like you're Rihanna

Isn't it funny how things tweeted by people you want to have sex with sound so much funnier than everyone else you follow (people you've already had sex with)? If you notice someone is on your Twitter nuts, but you haven't tweeted anything funny since your cat died, you might have an admirer.

7. He uses your photo in screenshots or app previews

This sign is not subtle, but again it means he thinks you're cute enough to be in the app store. So if you see yourself in a screenshot on TechCrunch, there's a good chance someone wants to get in your pants.

To celebrate local writers, designers, and TBI contributors we hosted an intimate shindig at the brand new boutique hotel downtown, Hotel Zetta, on Wednesday, April 24. The bar was serving wine from Thorny Rose and the Kalifornia Kolch from Magnolia Brewery. Guests included contributors for 7x7, Refinery29, The San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate, SFist, Eater, Wired, Mission Mission, Techive, and many more.  

Hotel Zetta hosted a raffle for a weekend stay in their amazing digs. 

The mezzanine level at Hotel Zetta is an all out, epic game room, which the guests thoroughly enjoyed. Games included a gigantic Jenga game, shuffle board, a pool table, video games, board games, and a huge Plinko board.

Photo by Sports Illustrated

NBA center Jason Collins has officially become the first openly gay male professional athlete.

The 34-year-old free agent – who played with the Boston Celtics in 2012-2013 and the Washington Wizards last season– said in an interview with Sports Illustrated, "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."

Collins' decision to come out is a big one for major American sports where questions about a man's sexuality can easily lead to national headlines – a la Notre Dame player Manti Te'o – and homosexuality isn't universally accepted amongst teammates. Recently, 49ers player Chris Culliver got into trouble for saying that he wouldn't welcome gay players in the NFL let alone as a team mate: "I don't do that. No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do."

And this was in San Francisco – the gay mecca. 

Although Collins never played for a Golden State team, he was a Stanford graduate and therefore a product of the Bay Area (in my mind, at least). Regardless, we can only hope that his historical coming out will have repercussions all the way down the West Coast, where gay marriage still isn't legal and queer little boys are still discouraged from becoming Boy Scouts.