Owl and the Sparrow

Xuân Thu and I catch "Owl and the Sparrow" at our beloved Kabuki Theater on V-Day. It's part of the San Francisco Film Festival and tells the tale of 10 year old Thuy who escapes her uncle's sweatshop on the outskirts of the City. She makes her way into Saigon in search of her dream - which is revealed gradually as the movie progresses. The movie also portrays the kindness of strangers - a definite anodyne to the dysfunctional nightmare of "Slumdog." There's also a sweet love side-story in there.

Stephane Gauger, the director makes a brief appearance before the start of the movie. He says there really are four protagonists: Thuy - the little girl, Hai - the zookeeper, Lan - the flight stewardess, and the City of Saigon itself.

Bonus: Pham Thi Han who makes her cinematic debut as little Thuy bears an uncanny resemblance to Xuân Thu at around the same age. What's not to like?

Please spread the word. Independent cinema needs our support.

A Beautiful Day

We awake to a gloriously sunny and crisp morning in San Francisco to head out for coffee, breakfast, the Times and the Chronicle. It's one of those mornings where one literally bounds out of bed full of hope and promise.

We won! America won! The world heaves a sigh of relief. Now on to the hard task of rebuilding this nation - and the world.

At the same time, we feel pained for LGBT brothers and sisters. We drove past the Castro last night and the signs for "No on 8" were everywhere. Drivers honked their support at volunteers holding up placards in the face of a chilly evening.

I know we will live to fight the good fight again and that our own children will come of age in a time when these old divisions will matter no more.

Mahatma Gandhi said it correctly: "We must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."

Fun Francisco

I guess it takes the NYT to expose hidden SF gems to this native. Time to explore beyond the usual haunts...

Cross-Bridge Rivalry

XuanThu and I watch the Oakland As wipe the astroturf with the SF Giants. Ring-side seats thanks to her ex-boss George who joined us as well. He's great company recounting the details of his recently-completed world cruise. I chuckle at his accounts of 'homeless cows' in India. I learn the ins-and-outs of baseball (my second live game) inside of five minutes from my trusty Wikipedia. It resembles cricket - with the key difference being that the spectators get to keep the baseball as a memento should it be hit into the stands. And oh yes - the game lasts three hours instead of three days.

We die and go to garlic curly-fries heaven. The food at AT&T Park is a huge step up from the grease-pit at the Shea Stadium where I had my first encounter with America's favorite pasttime.

We wait in vain for the Kiss-cam to spotlight us - so we can suck face. No dice. It's obsessed with a couple who seem oblivous to the fact that the camera is trained on them. Oh well.

In the ninth innings - as the game winds down - somebody turns on the sprinklers. It's quite a sight and the crowd roars in laughter. That's a great way to level the playing field. As - you'll get so wet and soggy that you'll throw the game and retreat to sunny Oaktown.

We cab it down to the Ball-Park and back - our cabbies in both cases are fascinating characters.

One of them looks like a retired Hells Angel with a cigarette voice. He happens to be a quiz nut. So the ride back home is Trivial Pursuit 101 - to my delight. "Where did the first transcontinental television broadcast take place?" Hint: It's a big city West of Oakland, CA.

The other, Brian, is a NYC transplant and an aspiring food writer who lets us onto the best New York Style Pizza in SF. This to my mind is an event of equal significance to the Moon Landing. XuanThu and he spend the rest of the ride dissing the ubiquitous Marina Girls. I derive endless amusement from understanding the fine points of eyelash tinting.

The view from six inches above MSL

Every Yorkie has his day.

XuanThu with Kooky Ramaswamy (named for an equally feisty champion of the underdog) Rao right by the Palace of Fine Arts.

Union Street Festival

We take a leisurely walk Sunday afternoon through Cow Hollow and up to Pac Heights. We discover festivities in full-swing along Union Street. As might be expected, this thoroughfare is cordoned off from traffic. We are both glad for a respite from the usual Marina/Cow-Hollow Ken & Barbies. It's somewhat chilly but the revellers - kids in tow - don't seem to mind.

I look longingly in the direction of the curly fries. But my lame "Babe it's 100% organic" pleas fall on deaf ears.

Move over Mini cooper

The new Smart carts - okay cars - keep popping up all over San Francisco. I wouldn't be suprised if they become runaway hits in the major metros what with constrained parking and supersized gas bills these days. Interestingly, the one in the picture is on offer by its owner. I hope he/she doesn't plan to trade up to a McBurban.

Along the Presidio

San Francisco has Multiple Personality Weather disorder. After a couple of days of beautiful sunshine we awake to drenched streets and overcast skies. Pix by Crissy Field and The Presidio.