Month: April 2002

Categories
People Writing

I am nuts about Herb Caen

If San Francisco can be represented by one person, that person is Herb Caen. And this week he is being celebrated: It’s Herb Caen week in San Francisco.

I wasn’t raised in San Francisco, but I know of Herb. And even if I didn’t know of “Herb Caen”, directly, I know of the type of man he was — the ultimate newspaper man. A symbol of days both more glamorous and grittier, weightier and frothier, and somehow more elegant than anything we can hope to achieve today.

In a reprint of one of Caen’s articles, What is San Francisco he wrote:

IT’S THE dramatically sudden appearance of more men in uniform than you’ve ever seen on the streets — symbols of a giant awakening to conflict, perhaps to blot out the peace and loveliness of All This . . . It’s the raucous, stark revival meeting at Third and Mission — where a man yells hysterically that he’s been “Saved!” while all about him drift broken men who’ll never be Saved, and the sightless windows of the surrounding buildings throw his words back at him scoffingly.

Herb Caen — 1940

There will never be another Herb Caen in print. There will never be a Herb Caen in the glossy pages of a magazine. And there will never be a Herb Caen in makeup in front of the camera reading from a teleprompter. However, if you read what he writes, if you read how he writes, then you know that someday, somehow, there will be another Herb Caen…

… and he’ll be here, among us. Another weblogger.

Take a moment and read about Herb:

Making the Rounds in Baghdad-by-the-Bay
Herb’s Homepage
Herb Caen Days
Herb Caen: We’ll Never Go There Anymore
Herb and the Samoans — we know this one — a simple gaff leading to dangerous misunderstanding
FBI hated Beloved San Francisco Columnist
Herb Caen: Once more with Feeling

Categories
Weblogging

Introducing Evil Woman

I just happened on to the birth of a new weblog yesterday, Evil Woman.

Since Evil Woman and I both like so many of the same weblogs, I have no choice but to add her to my blogroll.

Categories
Technology

Stealth P2P

Found this thanks to Rogi:

It seems as if a little extra functionality has been riding along with Kazaa when you download the file/music sharing software — P2P technology that will allow the user’s machine to be integrated into a true P2P distributed computing network.

Well, that’s not such a bad thing — P2P is good. However, the problem is the people who downloaded the Kazaa software did NOT know they were downloading this extra piece of functionality.

Now, it’s true, the company behind the software, Brilliant Digital hasn’t “turned on” the software yet, and won’t without asking first. However, I find the deviousness of this process to be appalling.

I said last year that for P2P to be successful, distribution of the software would need to be viral in nature. What I meant by this, is that one would need to use different approaches to distribute software, such as through email. And that the software would need to be modular and lightweight.

I did NOT mean that the software would be silently attached to other software, and distributed without the user’s knowledge.

My suggestion: if you downloaded Kazaa, dump it. Now. Uninstall it. And then contact Brilliant Digital for specific instructions to follow to ensure that no trace of this software remains on your machine.

And next time — be a little more cautious about what you download.

Categories
Writing

Herb Caen continued

I think I picked up my use of the elipses (…) from Herb Caen. He was a master in its use. Punctuation, grammar — these are tools to use, not rules to follow.

Herb Caen days continue. The following is an excerpt from an April, 1995 column:

SUNDAY was a great day for kite-flying, sailing, jogging, jiggling while jogging, jogging with a headset, jogging with Spandex, tossing Frisbees for dogs to retrieve, throwing tennis balls for dogs to return, roller-blading, skateboarding with a sail, wind-surfing, surfboarding on contemptuous breakers, biking, motorbiking, fishing, dishing, making sculptures out of the loose stones of the seawall, tossing sourdough bread to the wheeling gulls, lying in the sun, taking photos of your friends with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop . . .

I DIDN’T do any of those things but they were all on view Sunday along the magical two- mile stretch from the St. Francis Yacht Club parking lot to Fort Point — paths well-traveled by generations of San Franciscans abundantly pleased with themselves at their choice of a place to live, laugh, love and luxuriate.

The Presidio: what a treasure on a Sunday- sweet-Sunday, with the wind brisk but not knife- sharp, the people (all sizes, shapes and languages) in a mellow mood. No intrusive sounds, only the boom-crash of a pounding surf throwing rainbow-spray high into the blue. In the distance, old Alcatraz, once our Devil’s Island, surrounded by forests of white sails that part to let a container ship through, followed by an auto carrier, a tanker, a row of barges towed by a chesty tug looking pleased with itself, as tugs tend to do.

Categories
Just Shelley

Over the top

Did I go over the top in the last posting? I did, didn’t I?

I do this sometimes, have you noticed that? Probably why I’m called “Burningbird” rather than “Miss Dove” or “Miss Seagull” or “Cute Little Wren”.

There’s a whole lot of difference between stealing a sign — though this is wrong and not to be condoned — and other crimes one can do. Kick self and tell self “Get some friggen perspective, Bird, or we’ll yank away your ‘I’m holier than thou’ membership card. And make you eat it.”

I have a confession to make. When I was a young teenager, about 14 if I remember correctly, I was out with a group of friends in the wee hours of the morning when we noticed a police car parked in front of a home.

To make a long story short, we stole the blue plastic light cover from one of the lights on top of the car.

So much for my high moral ground

(…she says as she slinks away, hanging her head in shame…)