Tag: steppenwolf

Don’t Call It Frisco

Only my second trip in ten years to Baghdad by the Bay reminded me that SF is short on culture but long on history, fog, rain and redwoods. The redwoods were here before the city and will, the good Lord willing, be here long after the city’s gone, so make a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to

Only my second trip in ten years to Baghdad by the Bay reminded me that SF is short on culture but long on history, fog, rain and redwoods. The redwoods were here before the city and will, the good Lord willing, be here long after the city’s gone, so make a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods first and foremost on your list, followed by a drive along the Pacific Coast’s awe-inspiring Shoreline Highway.

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Back in the city, hit In-N-Out Burger down by Fisherman’s Wharf, a West Coast tradition since 1947, where the meat is fresh and never frozen, the fries are cut from fresh potatoes on the premises and fried in cholesterol-free vegetable  oil.  Sure, it’s a burger and  fries and isn’t ever really going to be good for you, but these are better for you than others, and besides the taste is incredible; a burger and  fries the way nature intended it.
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For a dash of history nothing beats a cable car ride. Yes, it’s really only for tourists these days and there are only 3 lines still in operation, down from the 22 lines that operated for locals back in the day, but it’s a living piece of US history and a mechanical wonder. In fact the cable cars are fully mechanical, not electric. Check it out:

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 And for a bit of culture I recommend a visit to the legendary Magic Theatre,  started during the Summer of Love and taking its name from one of my favorite novels, Hesse’s Steppenwolf.  The play I saw was a faux Restoration comedy that’s better left undiscussed.

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I topped off the trip with a drink at Top of the Mark, an historic, elegant bar atop the Mark Hopkins Hotel in Knob Hill.  I recommend their specialty martini the Manhattan Jack.  I know, it’s not a real martini because it’s not gin or vodka but it’s still a lovely drink – Jack Daniel’s, vermouth, and a cherry.  You’d swear it contained bitters or some sweet liquer but nope.  I had two and my envious companions also each ordered a round of them and we watched the repeated lightning strikes across the evening skyline during yet another rainstorm.

RIP James Heselden

In case you haven’t already heard, I must with heavy heart relay to you the sad news that Segway company owner James Heselden rolled off a cliff on his Segway and died yesterday in London.  He is not to be confused with the Segway’s creator and original company owner Dean Kamen.  Naturally the ‘net is already splitting at the seams

In case you haven’t already heard, I must with heavy heart relay to you the sad news that Segway company owner James Heselden rolled off a cliff on his Segway and died yesterday in London.  He is not to be confused with the Segway’s creator and original company owner Dean Kamen.  Naturally the ‘net is already splitting at the seams with wisecracks (“maybe he was showing the post office that Segways can be used for air mail”). Even prior to this tragic event Youtube already featured a plethora of home vids depicting “Segway dorks,” “Segway nerds,” etc, etc. 

James Dean behind the wheel of his Porsche racecar. He died in a crash on the way to a race on September 30, 1955.

Well, I’m here to flip this thing upright and tell you that dying on a Segway doesn’t make Mr. Heselden lame, it makes him a motherfucking badass.  So you can run and tell that, homeboy.  You heard me.  Don’t believe it? I share as proof some private cell phone footage of my one and only Segway ride, a tour with friends through DC on April 29, 2007. Perhaps if you’ve got the guts you too will take command of a Segway someday and feel its gyroscopic power rumbling beneath your feet — unless of course you’re too chicken.

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[Photos via telegraph.co.uk and theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com.  Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf.]