Bridesmaid yet again

Buried amidst the more pressing matters in the World this week, the United States Olympic Committee decided who would be their official bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

It’s not San Francisco.

it stings to see us passed over yet again.

San Francisco first seriously flirted with the Summer Olympics when there was a move to bid for the 1996 Games. Atlanta was eventually awarded the Games despite a huge controversy since that was the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic movement and many considered it a lock for Athens, the city which hosted the first Olympics of the modern movement.

With Atlanta winning the 1996 Summer Games and Salt Lake City being awarded the 2002 Winter Games, it was felt there was little chance they could win in 2004 or 2008. (By that time Athens had already been awarded the 2000 Games).

A San Francisco bid was one of the front runners for the 2012 Games, only to lose out to New York. (New York eventually lost out to London).

Not to be deterred, a bid was formulated for the 2016 Summer Games. This bid had issues, particularly revolving around where the main stadium would be.

Levi’s Stadium was not quite yet a glint in Jed York’s eye, and this was several years after the DeBartolo debacle had collapsed in a heap of ash. This would have brought a brand new stadium and hotel development to Candlestick Point, and kept the San Francisco 49ers in the City for decades to come.

This issue of a centralized stadium eventually caused San Francisco to be withdrawn from USOC consideration.

I can understand that. Consider the awesomeness that was the Bird Nest Stadium of the 2008 Beijing Games.

Now it was hoped this most recent bid (2024) would be the charm. In fact, if you’d asked people involved with the bidding process earlier this week, San Francisco and Los Angeles were considered the front runners. Alas, but we’re sitting on the side lines once again.

To be honest, I think the main stadium was, yet again, the Achilles heel. When will they learn?

The 2024 bid had plans for a $350 million pop-up stadium, located in Brisbane. This temporary facility would be dismantled after the Games concluded, presumably to be sold and shipped off to Lord knows where for reuse. But, that’s a fair chunk of change to be spent for such a short period of timed.

Before anybody says how they’re so happy because all that money could now be spent on better things…don’t bother. The plan was for the 2024 Olympic Games to be completely funded through private monies, unlike the 1996 Americas Cup Races, which cost the City of San Francisco and Port of San Francisco about $11.5 million.

I haven’t heard why Levi’s Stadium wasn’t considered. After all, the games could take place before the San Francisco 49ers NFL season. Perhaps it was the thought that the marque events, the Opening and Closing ceremonies, would be taking place in Santa Clara?

If that’s the reason, it must’ve really stuck in someone’s craw when a last minute suggestion would have placed those events across the Bay in Oakland, inside a new stadium built at the Coliseum Complex. That stadium would be permanent, and serve as a long-term home for the Oakland Raiders.

I’m sure the actual reasons will dribble out over the next few weeks. But, it won’t surprise me to hear that was a big part of it.

Congratulation to Boston. A nice thing about their bid is that it’s going to be fairly compact, with most events happening right there in the Boston metropolitan area.

Still, Boston 2024 is going to have some stiff competition. Cities have until September 15, 2015 to submit their bids. As of right now, Rome is the only city that has submitted it’s paperwork. However, bids are expected from Berlin, Paris, and Istanbul.

Additionally, there are at least a half dozen other cities from around the globe which have been rumored to be considering a bid.

Personally, I’m torn. As much as I’d love to see an American city get the bid, it would likely mean no San Francisco bids for at least another 20 years.

Next year’s Summer Olympics are taking place in Rio de Janeiro. They will be the first Olympics to take place in South America.

Despite having a handful of bids over the years, an African city has never hosted the Olympics. However, there has been talk of bids coming from Nairobi, Casablanca, Durban or Johannesburg.

If the money can be found to put forth a strong bid, it’d be wonderful to see that fifth Olympic ring represent the Olympics happening on the African continent, and not just that her athletes are taking part.

The winning city for the 2024 Summer Olympics will be selected in 2017, at the Lima, Peru International Olympic session.

NaNoWriMo 2014 –Take One

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

* * *

To most, November means leaves turning gold and orange, frost on the ground and a chill in the morning air, and there’s plenty of turkey and pumpkin pie towards the end of the month.

To others, it’s time to write. Write A LOT!!! At least 50,000 words to be specific for it’s National Novel Writing Month…NaNoWriMo for short.

I learned about NaNoWriMo by accident midway through last November when listening to Mur Lafferty’s I should Be Writing podcast. It intrigued me. But, I figured there would be no way to win starting so late in the month.

Organizers say you win NaNoWriMo if you write at least 50,000 words during the month. It can be pure dreck that you’ll throw 80% away in editing. But, the word count is the goal. To get the juices flowing, so to speak.

And what do you get for winning? A fancy downloadable pdf certificate, suitable for hanging on your all (frame not included).

I think most people have said at least once in their life, “I want to write a book.” The trick is in actually moving from thinking about it to actually doing it; be it on a computer, typewriter, or a ream of 20lb bond and a fountain pen.

NaNoWriMo has grown from a group of 21 Bay Area friends in 1999 to over 310,000 participants worldwide just last year. People from all walks of life writing about all sorts of different subjects.

I will be writing a fictionalized account of a little known American Civil War event. In 1863, Czar Alexander II approved a plan to send his Pacific Navy fleet to San Francisco, while sending his Atlantic Navy fleet to New York City. They hung around for about a year before heading back to Mother Russia.

It’ll be wrapped about several historical events, which they may or may not have had direct involvement in (it’s fiction after all!).

At least that’s the plan.

Or I  may decide at the last second I want to hold that one off until I get more research done, replacing the idea with some <fill in the genre> novel that I’ve come up with as I go along (known as a pantsing in NaNoWriMo vernacular).

That’s allowed, since there are really very few rules, and for those who want to break the rules, there’s a rule for that. Just declare yourself a NaNoWriMo Rebel.

50,000 words is actually doable. That’s only 1,667 words per day, if you write every day. Most of my blog entries hover around 1,000 words, and are completed in about two hours with editing (this entry is about 560 words). For NaNoWriMo, you’re generally supposed to lock your inside editor in a box until December.

* * *

For those interested in taking up the challenge, local East Bay Region organizers will be having a pre-event meet and greet Thursday (Oct. 30) at the Dublin Panera, located at 7030 Amador Plaza Road, followed by an official kick-off party, November 1, at the Berkeley Public Library main branch.

If you’re not located around my neck of the woods you can find your home region, as well as any events they might have scheduled at http://nanowrimo.org/regions

Prost…It's San Francisco Beer Week 2013!!

Did you wake up today wondering when your first beer was going to be today? A whole bunch of  people probably did, but not because of any problem they have. It's because today is the start of the annual San Francisco Beer Week.

For those in tune with the craft beer scene this comes as no surprise as they've been eagerly awaiting the week long festival's return since last February (It's actually nine days, but who is counting?). For those that haven't heard of it, or have just in passing, it's a celebration of commercial breweries in the greater San Francisco Bay Area whose capacity isn't large enough to fill a pool the size of Lake Tahoe!!

But take heart. You don't have to be in San Francisco itself to enjoy the festivities, as brewers from Santa Cruz to Healdsburg, San Francisco to Pittsburg (and beyond!) will be having special festivities during this week. The official web page has a full schedule posted, along with an iPhone app for download (Sadly there is no Android app for 2013).

San Francisco Beer Week officially started only a few years ago (2009? Their website actually doesn't say) and has quickly grown to national fame, being mentioned in non-brew media outlets, such as the Huffington Post.

Generally speaking, most brewers are pouring beers of thick and syrupy goodness, like barleywine, imperials, porters, and unique tasting sours. Beers that take a long time to brew and then lovingly aged for quite some time. Sometime even aged in oak and/or whisky barrels to give it that rich mellow flavor that you just don't find in a beer that's bottled as soon as it's finished fermenting.

However, it's not just about the beer. Many places have special beer dinners that promote what foods to pair with which type of beer. On the other end of the spectrum are things as simple as beer and and chocolate, or beer and cheese, pairings.

Beer Week starts off with tonight's kick-off festival. Seventy-Eight brewers will be pouring their finest at the special celebration, which also includes food and music. Unfortunately tickets are now sold out, according to their webpage.

Some of the East Bay highlights include will be Triple Rock's last Keyser Soze release and Sour Sunday, as well as the Bay Area's first ever Wine-Barrel-aged Beer Tastival, hosted by Oakland's Beer Revolution. By aging in used wine barrels, the beer gains a unique rounded flavor that isn't present in straight beer.

If you still haven't made plan's for Valentine's Day, you might consider taking your significant other to The Trappist, where Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, the founder of Denmark's world famous Mikkeller Brewing Co, will be in town for a very rare appearance. Seating is extremely limited so they have asked that you RSVP, if possible.

Please remember these are beers to savor and enjoy, and not to slam to get drunk on. If you do the latter, you'll endanger yourself, others, and the next morning will remember why you should remember the former!! (most of these special beers will be pushing to 10% alc. level, and some are even up above 14%, which is what you'd find in a heavy Cabernet or Zinfandel).

Locally, El Cerrito's Elevation 66 Brewing Co. will be having a beer pairing dinner, where the culinary staff have created dishes to pair with their line of craft brews.

Albany's newest entry to the East Bay beer scene, the Albany Taproom and Grazzy Burgers, had been planning to open in time for SF Beer Week. However, final inspection approval did not happen until recently. When they open in early March, they will have over 20 rotating taps of craft brew, along with a huge selection of bottled beers in their To Go section.

* * *

Picking up when Beer Week ends, and worth mentioning even by itself, is the annual Toronado Pub Barleywine Festival (Feb. 16-18), in the Haight/Ashbury area of San Francisco. This is now the 20th rendition of the event.

On any day, the Toronado is an epic experience with dozens and dozens of taps, and a beer cellar of bottled beers to choose from. They were probably the best Belgian-style beer bar outside of Brussels for the longest of time. On a normal day it's crowded and noisy. However, during the Barleywine and Belgian beer festivals that's taken to a whole different level.

They have so many offerings, and the noise is so deafening, that you literally have to yell at the bar tender the beer's number, as opposed to the name. Trust me, it works better than trying to say some unpronounceable Dutch or Belgian name. They probably rotate through over 100 different barleywines over the festival, so you'll be guaranteed of having something you've never had before.

Be forewarned parking is lousy at best, especially after normal weekday work hours, and all weekend long. Better than driving, consider taking Muni to get there and don't worry about parking, or if you should've had that last glass of Angel's Share.

* * *

Links to look over when planning your Beer Week itinerary:
San Francisco Beer Week (official site)
San Francisco Taxi Tips
511.ORG Go Green transit page
San Francisco Muni
Bay Area Rapid Transit
AC Transit
Golden Gate Transit trip planner
Valley Transit Authority (San Jose area)
CalTRAIN
SamTrans (Peninsula)
County Connection  (central and eastern Contra Costa County)

Prost…It's San Francisco Beer Week 2012!!

Did you wake up today wondering when your first beer was going to be today? A whole bunch of  people probably did, but not because of any problem they have. It's because today is the start of the annual San Francisco Beer Week.

For those in tune with the craft beer scene this comes as no surprise as they've been eagerly awaiting the week long festival's return since last February (It's actually nine days, but who is counting?). For those that haven't heard of it, or have just in passing, it's a celebration of commercial breweries in the greater San Francisco Bay Area whose capacity isn't large enough to fill a pool the size of Lake Tahoe!!

But take heart. You don't have to be in San Francisco itself to enjoy the festivities, as brewers from Santa Cruz to Healdsburg, San Francisco to Pittsburg (and beyond!) will be having special festivities during this week. (the official web page has a full schedule posted, along with iPhone and Android apps for download!).

San Francisco Beer Week officially started only a few years ago (2009? Their website actually doesn't say) and has quickly grown to national fame, being mentioned in non-brew media outlets, such as the Huffington Post.

Generally speaking, most brewers are pouring beers of thick and syrupy goodness, like barleywine, imperials, porters, and unique tasting sours. Beers that take a long time to brew and then lovingly aged for quite some time. Sometime even aged in oak and/or whisky barrels to give it that rich mellow flavor that you just don't find in a beer that's bottled as soon as it's finished fermenting.

However, it's not just about the beer. Many places have special beer dinners that promote what foods to pair with which type of beer. On the other end of the spectrum are things as simple as beer and and chocolate, or beer and cheese, pairings.

Beer Week starts off with tonight's kick-off festival. Over 50 brewers will be pouring their finest at the special celebration, which also includes food and music. Unfortunately, if you haven't got your ticket already, it's too late as it's listed as Sold Out on their web page.

Some of my highlights I hope to hit will be Triple Rock's Keyser Soze release and Sour Sunday, as well as Pacific Coast's Vintage Ale tasting (You haven't had anything till you've tried Don Gortmiller's 20+ year Hammerhead Sour Barleywine!!).

Please remember these are beers to savor and enjoy, and not to slam to get drunk on. If you do the latter, you'll endanger yourself, others, and the next morning will remember why you should remember the former!! (most of these special beers will be pushing to 10% alc. level, and some are even up above 14%, which is what you'd find in a heavy Cabernet or Zinfandel).

* * *

Picking up when Beer Week ends, and worth mentioning even by itself, is the annual Toronado Pub Barleywine Festival, in the Haight/Ashbury area of San Francisco. This is now the 19th rendition of the event.

On any day, the Toronado is an epic experience with dozens and dozens of taps, and a beer cellar of bottled beers to choose from. They were probably the best Belgian-style beer bar outside of Brussels for the longest of time. On a normal day it's crowded and noisy. However, during the Barleywine and Belgian beer festivals that's taken to a whole different level. They have so many offerings, and the noise is so deafening, that you literally have to yell at the bar tender the beer's number, as opposed to the name. Trust me, it works better than trying to say some unpronounceable Dutch or Belgian name. They probably rotate through over 100 different barleywines over the festival, so you'll be guaranteed of having something you've never had before.

Be forewarned parking is lousy at best, especially after normal weekday work hours, and all weekend long. Better than driving, consider taking Muni to get there and don't worry about parking, or if you should've had that last glass of Angel's Share.

* * *

Links to look over when planning your Beer Week itinerary:
San Francisco Beer Week (official site)
San Francisco Taxi Tips
511.ORG Go Green transit page
San Francisco Muni
Bay Area Rapid Transit
AC Transit
Golden Gate Transit trip planner
Valley Transit Authority (San Jose area)
CalTRAIN
SamTrans (Peninsula)
County Connection  (central and eastern Contra Costa County)