Invaded

 

 The nations in red on the map above are nations that have been invaded by Great Britain. 

This topic came up in my AP U.S. History class last week. I think most Americans just take it for granted that we successfully defeated Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. But the Colonies victory was a shocking thing. No one would have bet on George Washington and his rag tag militia had Vegas existed back then. The Colonies vs the greatest empire on Earth at the time? No way anyone takes the Colonies in that bet. It was a staggering achievement and one of the greatest upsets since the mighty Persian Empire was defeated by the Greek city-states almost 2,000 years earlier. 

But what did surprise me was how many nations Britain has actually invaded in it's history. Only 22 nations on Earth have NOT been attacked or occupied by the British in history. Twenty-two! That's it. Everyone else has either had at minimum a small contingent of English soldiers occupy them or downright take them over in a hostile action. Which leads to this...

Recycled Books

 

Saturday I was in Denton, Texas for my son's marching band competition. There was a five hour gap of time at one point so I drove over to Barnes and Noble to wile away the hours. It had been years since I had darkened the doors of a B&N and I had forgotten how overpriced and corporate the place was. It was very clean and well organized. Clean bathrooms and very nice employees. But man, everything so expensive. So I decided to bail and googled for a used book store. 

 

I found one in downtown Denton just a few minutes away. Recycled Books and Records was the place and it is located in the old Denton Opera House built over a hundred years ago. Downtown Denton has a totally different vibe than the mall. Felt like Austin and the book store did not disappoint. 

 

It was huge and sprawling and chaotic. Upstairs, downstairs, hidden cubbies and nooks. Twisty turns that lead to other rooms and corners. Green shag carpeting in some areas. Everything reasonable save for the some of the classic vinyl. I only walked out with two books for $10. The record section even had a Weezer and White Stripes section. I enjoyed this shop and may have to revisit during the next marching competition. 

The Normal Stuff

 Of course we did the normal SF sites too. 

Visiting City Lights

 

Another place we had to visit while in San Francisco was the City Lights Bookstore. I've been a fan of the beats since I was in late high school so this was a most necessary stop.

City Lights was famously opened by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1953. City Lights was the first bookstore to primarily sell paperbacks which lowered the cost of purchasing a book and allowed for many to participate in the literary world without blowing your entire paycheck.

City Lights also published the books and poems of beat writers when they couldn't find publishing houses willing to publish their more controversial works. Sometimes that got them in legal trouble.

City Lights reminded me greatly of its sister store Shakespeare and Company in Paris. Despite the similar aesthetic City Lights has a personality all its own. I love both these bookstores and strongly recommend book lovers to check them both out. They are indeed literary pilgrimage sites.

So we roamed the aisles and soaked in the vibe. We took our time. It was indeed busy. But we were patient.

 

I had already decided on some books I would look for at City Lights. I thought it would be appropriate to purchase a couple of works from Beat legend Gary Snyder.

So in the famous Poetry Room I found a lot of Snyder works to choose from. I went with two of his classics: The Practice of the Wild and Turtle Island. 

Turtle Island actually was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1975. Although I'm a big fan of Gary Snyder I had not read these two essential works of his before this trip.

 

 

Both books are wonderful. Practice of the Wild is a collection of essays and Turtle Island a collection of Snyder's poetry. I have found the deeply meditative. They also will remind me of my wonderful visit to this special book shop.  

Visiting 826

Another place I always wanted to visit in San Francisco was 826 Valencia. I was very glad to have the opportunity to make the drive to the Mission District and the shop in person.

 

 

In 2000, Dave Eggers, one of my favorite authors, wanted to open a tutoring center for under-served kids in the Mission District. The only hang-up was that the space they had acquired was zoned commercial. So they decided to be creative and opened a whimsical pirate supply store in the front of the space to accommodate the city's regulations. Tutoring would take place in the back of the store.

 

The idea eventually took off and spread nationally with whimsical shops opening all over the world with tutoring centers in the back. Many of these shops earn a profit and pay for the rent of the center. The original Pirate Supply Store at 826 Valencia is always bustling with students, teachers and volunteers. These students get writing and reading help they desperately need. They often have their works published by McSweeney's, the non-profit publishing group founded by Eggers. 

 

It was indeed inspiring to visit the actual place after following their story for so many years. The shop is legit. Actual supplies a buccaneer would find helpful. All profits go to supporting and operating the center. I didn't buy a peg leg or eye patch, going for a t-shirt instead. 826 Valencia is a great example of using creativity to meet a crucial need in society. 

By the way, an extra perk of visiting the Mission District is that just a few shops down from 826 Valencia is Dandelion Chocolate which a very nice place to stop in for any reason.

A Visit to The Interval at the Long Now

 

Yeah, it has been a long time. But I just can't let go of the old Internet Lounge. It really is more about routine. I like keeping up with a blog. But once I get off routine, the blog updates are doomed. It would be a lot easier if Google actually resurrected a good Blogger app, but they gave their app up and the mobile options out there aren't great. But anyway...

This summer we traveled to San Francisco. SF is one of my favorite cities and it was a nice change going with kids this time. 

We saw the normal sites but we also had some chances to go to places that I find fascinating beyond the regular tourist trail.

One of these places is the Interval Bar/Cafe at the Long Now Foundation. It is located at the Fort Mason Cultural Center and was on our to-go list as soon as we decided to go to San Francisco. 

The Long Now Foundation is an organization dedicated to thinking about long-term issues for humanity. They opened The Interval a few years ago to serve as a meeting place for their salons and gatherings. This is also where they house their "Manual for Civilization," a community curated collection of thousands of essential books about understanding the meaning of civilization. 

They often have lectures and talks there by some of my favorite thinkers like Long Now members Kim Stanley Robinson, Keven Kelly, Stewart Brand and more.

It was a great place to soak up the vibe of SF thinkers and drink a fantastic green tea. It was an inspiring place to see in a beautiful location.