jon_chaisson | (no subject)

Hey ho, back from Berkeley...

It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be, but it did have its moments. Comic Relief was a rather impressive comic book store and I'm only sad that I forgot to write down exactly which trades I was looking for (the remaining Transmetropolitan books, the 2nd Blue Monday which I swore we had, etc.). I did pick up the last two issues of Strangers In Paradise, just so I had them on hand...now all I need do is wait for the last SiP trade to come out and I have the entire series! :)

CR is right next door to the first of many bookstores we went to, Half Price Books. It was a decent-sized used-and-new store and had a really good selection. I quickly thumbed through the cd section but kept myself from picking anything up...

(NOTE TO SELF: Sometime this week, write down all the Douglas Coupland books I have. I know I'm missing two or three, but I can't seem to remember which ones...)

I should also point out that this is finally the first time that I rode BART, which is a rather interesting experience...it's not often that one rides a train/subway/transit line that has a carpeted floor, comfy cloth seats and plenty of leg room. I was, of course, warned of the Doors of DOOOOOM (they WILL close on you if you're not fast enough, make no mistake). Not used to the train pass system, though...makes sense, but give me the MUNI Pass any day. ;)

Other points/items of interest--
--Bongo Burger, a hangout on Central Street. We didn't go in, but were amused by the name nonetheless. It's like a burger joint straight out of Questionable Content. And we very nearly chose to go to Top Dog as well, but alas we'll have to post at

dogs_of_summer at a later point...
--C.U. Japanese Fusion, where we ate (strangely enough, no website!). Amazing how much sushi and chicken teriyaki I got for just $10. I was FULL after that.
--Moe's Books, right down the street from Amoeba. Four--count 'em--four floors of books. They certainly don't have everything you're looking for, but they have a pretty damn good selection and a really good variety of genres and topics. And finding out that Jonathan Lethem wrote Gun, With Occasional Music while working there gives it bonus points. ;) This store reminds me heavily of Johnson's Bookstore in downtown Springfield MA, which is probably why I loved it so much.
--The other (apparently better) Rasputin Records is right down the street from Amoeba. But due to very bad experiences at the Powell Street store, we decided we didn't really need to go there... ;)
--California Theatre looks like a really nice theater I'd like to go to (hell, they're playing Paprika, which I would LOVE to see). One of three different movie theaters we happened by.
--Shall I say that the dollar bin at the Amoeba up in Berkeley ROCKS?!?? The problem at the SF store is that their dollar bin has a boatload of stuff and it's fun to go through, but about 80% of it is utter crap, even by

lynxreign's standards. Let's just say that if I had a lot more time and a lot more money and a lot more room, those bins at the Berkeley store would be just a bit more sparse after I was done with it....
--Note to the Bob Dylan wannabe on the BART ride back to SF who felt it was his life's purpose to serenade riders: Please, for the love of music--TUNE YOUR DAMN GUITAR. And STOP STARING AT MY WOMAN, DAMMIT. That, and there are in fact other guitar chords besides E, G, and D...just thought you'd like to know. ;)

So yeah, not exactly a city I'm overly excited about...lots of good stuff, but a bit out of the way and one has to be ready to do quite a bit of walking to go from one shopping strip (Shattuck) to another (Telegraph). And Emm's yarn store is nowhere near the area. It would make more sense to make a day of it by driving up there, but apparently parking is quite the joke. Perhaps another time...?

(I sadly didn't take any pictures, but Emm has taken some and will most likely post them in the future at some point...)