Regarding: Lessons From My Grandma on Art, Sex and Life

See the New York Times Article here.

Dear Bret: Well amazing--I never connected you to Annette, although I knew Cherry (and Vivi), and of course, Annette--she was my grandmother's (Ann Goldfarb), best friend. My grandparents also lived in Mexico for many years and we would visit them often. I remember racing up and down the spiral staircase in her amazing apartment overlooking the Angel in Mexico City (the enormous painting of her with a different face hung over the sofa in the living room) and staying with my family at her house in Acapulco when I was very young. Annette and my grandmother were adventurous, courageous, fun, independent women. They were unusual for the time (and would be now). Their example of limitless possibility (not financially--however lucky they were in that regard, but attitudinally) formed the woman I became (although I am not nearly as much fun . . .). Chris Desser

Regarding: Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Enduring San Francisco

See the New York Times Article here. Photo by Stacy Lewis

The San Francisco that the wonderful Mr. Ferlinghetti treasures is just about gone having all but given way to a deadening tech culture that shares none of the values that made the city the interesting, vibrant and diverse place it once was. Jack Kerouac could probably not afford to live here and once he "got" here, and would soon discover that "the joy . . .kicks . . . something burning in the night” isn't anymore. It is a less and less "strange" place. The resulting homogeneity is "weird" all right, but not the kind of weird the poet is referring to. Creepy is more apt. I wonder how Mr. Ferlinghetti felt when he found out the article was for the travel section after all . . .

Re: Gavin Newsom's Housing Hammer

See the SF Chronicle article here.

NO!!!! Those of us who live in rural and "semi-rural areas and care about maintaining locally owned farms, ranches and dairies have a right to a voice too and decision making too! Those of us who care about intact ecosystems and environmental sustainability have a voice too! Ag land and public parks constitute much of Marin--I suspect that this is why Marin "fell short" of "needed housing production" (determined by who?). A local economy with any ag component, as opposed to a tech driven one, needs open space, not rabbit -warren housing. And again, there is a failure to actually connect the issue to water of which, here in California, we have precious little of. Our towns, cities, indeed the state, are at or beyond sustainable carrying capacity--we need to recognize this fact instead of pushing for more people, more housing, more jobs. The human toll--increased stress, anger, incivility, wasted time-- of these increasing crowds everywhere is tremendous--like flying the cheap seats in coach every moment of every day.