OCEAN BEACH, MUNI, AND MOVIES

Today marked the first time in more than 6 months that I've been running outside with my shirt off. I took the #23 west toward Ocean Beach (the name says it all). The bus takes about 10 minutes to get to the Pacific Ocean, right near the San Francisco Zoo. Then I took off running north toward Golden Gate Park and the Cliff House. From what I can tell, I ran about 4 miles.

I used to run in Austin around Town Lake, and this was the closest to that experience. Better in a lot of ways - waves, lot's going on besides running, biking, and walking, beautiful cliffs and it's on the beach. I didn't take a camera (and, in fact, my new digital camera is broken for the second time in 2 months of ownership), but I've provided someone else's picture below to show, roughly, where I was ...



The sand was sparkly, like it was full of cubic zirconia or broken glass; and a mix of brown and black - in some areas it looked similar to pencil lead. It was also steamy. I think the cold water was mixing with the sand that was absorbing the sunshine and warmth, and that created a mist over much of the beach.

People on the beach were sitting in lawn chairs, playing football, tossing frisbees, flying kites, digging in the sand, and of course there were a few other folks like me running. There weren't as many people surfing as last time I visited the same beach, but that's probably because the waves were choppy and not that high - kind of like a good day on Padre Island. Anyway, it was easy to catch the bus back to my house, and I'll probably start doing this a lot more.

It's rare for me to be so content with the San Francisco public transportation or MUNI.

Lately I've had to fight my rage about that public service. The buses are often late, or don't even show up. The vehicles, themselves, are often old and break down (the exception is the light rail trains, which run great). MUNI officials have recently announced they are raising rates and cutting services. This blows my mind since service already sucks for a progressive city known for public transportation. I think about this a lot when I'm waiting for a bus that's already half an hour late.

I spoke to a bus driver the other night and we tried to figure out why MUNI was having financial problems. We both came to the conclusion that it was because management was raking in our fares and taxes to fatten their wallets, while cutting services and still overworking their drivers.

So, maybe I'll try to do something - other than complain to anyone who will listen - about the buses. Geez, I sound like an old man. Do old men go running shirtless on the beach or go dancing to 80's music on a Thursday night?

I went to a place called the Cat Club this Thursday with Chadwick - it was a little like Elysium of my old Austin days, but there were two dance floors and fewer people wearing black trench coats.

This weekend I didn't go out much, but I did rent Control Room and Garden State. I thought Control Room was really interesting, but certainly not "RIVETING" as David Sterritt of the Christian Science Monitor apparently wrote. It did make me cry a couple of times, but lately I've been chemically all over the place - I cry when I listen to Talib Kweli's "Black Girl Pain" on my iPod on the way to work - it's really embarassing. Garden State was a sweet love story, and I suppose it was about other stuff, but although I laughed out loud a number of times, I was mostly bored with it. Zach Braff is pretty cute - but pick any movie with 20-somethings and Indy music and the guys will usually be attractive in a boyish, white male sort of way. I don't think I'll watch either movie again.

Unlike these two movies, I also watched Blade Runner (which I own) for something like the 30th time this weekend. What an incredible movie - the director's cut of course. The best visual scene is when Deckard takes a drink (Vodka?) at his place after an intense fight with one of the male replicants out in the streets of a futuristic Los Angeles (I actually think it is set around 2016). He takes a drink and you see some blood flow into the clear liquid from his mouth. I also like the scene where the stripper replicant gets shot and runs through all those glass windows.

So what are you up to?