Sepia Saturday: Abandoned

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I worked for a couple of small town and suburban newspapers. At some point I will trudge through old photos and articles. I enjoyed interviewing local eccentrics and recall being in a tiny, poorly ventilated dark room as I processed film and made prints. "Surely a day will come when all of this can be done...without these wretched chemicals I mused." I don't miss the chemicals but sometimes I miss those images slowly emerging in a pool of developer under a 25 watt red light.

Much as I loved the people photos, my favorites were those of abandoned places and buildings such as these two. I don't know anything about the stories behind who lived here once or why these places were abandoned. The fact that they are a mystery is probably why they most appealed to me then and now.

Yay! Newsies

We never saw the film Newsies and never delivered the paper. However, we've always loved newsies and their fashion sense. Even if the printed news is a dying breed, the clothing is forever "with it".

Goodbye?

The San Francisco Chronicle may close? Is anyone crying? Is it sad that the family name behind it is no longer mythic, no longer a symbol that would inspire wacko domestic terrorists to resort to bank robberies and kidnapping?

The fact that it may soon follow the Dodos, Studebaker Avanti, Circuit City and Montgomery Ward isn't something to make many get misty eyed, is it? At least the parakeet cages will still have the San Francisco Examiner to make them squawk.

UPDATE: And now the Tonga Room. What next? The Golden Gate Bridge? (No they'll just jack tolls up to $25.)

In Today's Style Section

This morning's San Francisco Chronicle (yes, I actually still take a few minutes on Sunday mornings to scan it) has a theme for the cover page of its style section: gurus. It's not exactly scintillating reading, but here is the link should you care to take a glimpse. Shockingly they failed to mention the Guru.

Side note: After several days of interviews, background checks and screenings we think we have a babysitter in place. The McCain campaign should have contracted Junk Thief for the VP selection process since he certainly has much better vetting skills. No, not medical vetting skills.

Examiner Adopts Bold New Marketing Strategy

UPDATE: As if misspelling San Francisco on the front cover several times a month were not enough to make them the funniest paper on the streets, yesterday The Examiner posted this howler of a quote. I think that's the hip new street lingo all those young things in hoodies use here in the Mission.