That's books for ya! - The China Study

I love reading. Back in New York, my daily hour and a half commute from Brooklyn into the East Village and back was bearable, even enjoyable, only because I always had a book in hand. Without my little book friend, I most likely would have rolled my eyes, yelled, and pushed more often than I already did. Reading on the subway was surprisingly the most relaxing part of my day.

Now that I live in the “city” (of San Francisco), I don’t have very long commutes anywhere (not to mention, having no office to go to, my commute to work is...non-existent). And while it’s pretty sweet to be able to walk any place you want to go, I do miss those daily book dates on-board. But, lives change and routines change with it, and books (and my sanity for that matter) shouldn’t suffer because of it.

To go along with my “ScoutOUT!” bits, I’m starting another feature called “That’s books for ya!”. This new addition will share the wordy adventures of my reads (which are almost always non-fiction), crazy discoveries (aka…wtf! protein causes cancer!!) and most likely wrap up with a review of some sort.

Here to kick off the first "That's book for ya!" is my current read - The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted, by T. Colin Campbell PhD.


With only 50 pages read, I can say the learnings thus far revealed are INSANE in the membrane – literally. Campbell, along with students and colleagues, conducted much research that strongly (like 100 to 0) suggests having too much protein (especially from animals…so things like cheese, milk, or chicken strips) really isn’t a good idea at all. Well, why not??? Because it’ll probably give you cancer, that's why.

Like fertilizer for weeds, protein (when over done and animal derived) feeds the multiplying cancer cells, boosting growth and allowing the cells to thrive into tumors. Not cool. What a misleading name…pro-tein. Ha. Campbell goes on to share that a low protein diet (mostly from plant proteins) can actually reverse cancer cell growth. That’s right…less protein (from animals) prevents AND reverses cancer. Like I said, insane in the membrane. Just another reason I’m hella happy that I've never been a fan of chicken strips and that I'm a mostly-vegetarian (although reading this book has gotten me rethinking all that cheese, butter, and cream I’m so fond of…).

More shocks to come, I’m sure…

scoutOUT! - Scrap

Scrap
801 Toland, San Francisco
(enter the warehouse on Newcomb Ave, between Toland and Selby)
Monday through Saturday, from 9am to 5pm.

If Urban Ore fixes your home, Scrap colorizes, texturizes, and wacks-out your home. Tucked away on a side street in the middle of an industrial neighborhood, Scrap is like a crafters wonderland. Prices are few and far between - so the deals are only realised once you are about to pay - that is unless you find some fun scraps of fabric, paper, electric parts or something else in front of the sign that says "from here to door is free!" I love free, but with all that other, better scrap lurking behind the sign, free sometimes isn't for me.

Immediately when you enter Scrap you think, damn, I need to start making stuff! With barrels full of wine corks, boxes loaded with tiny glass bottles, and yards and yards of scrappy fabrics organized in a rainbow of color, who wouldn't wanna be holed up in their house sewing, hot gluing, and scraping away? mmm...

Alex, is that person who doesn't feel that way. Recently we've been visiting some paper and art stores and he gets bored. He's definitely not a craft-man. All the paper is the same to him (even when it's totally not!) and he gets no pleasure in staring at 10 different glues. So, when i told him i wanted him to accompany me to the craft depot, Scrap, rockets didn't go off. And 10 minutes after of arrival, he said, "okay, ready?!" But obviously I wasn't, since I had just walked past the freebies into the retail space. So, bored, he went exploring...

Who ended up with the most stuff? Alex! He ended up finding random book pages that had been ripped out and stashed away in some drawer. Two that he bought were intructional photographs on how to clean an oil spill with hay. Others were patents for things like self-air conditioning rocking chair and chewing gum lockets, german poems and songs, russian drawings of crazy big radishes, and two stones (total $5...i think the lady who checked alex out was into the number 5, cause it probably would have been less had my cashier handled the transaction).

I ended up being more inspired than goods-aquired, but I didn't leave empty handed: 1 adhesize roll of faux wood, 2 childrens books with awesome illustrations, an old san francisco map that's rich in subdued colors, and some fabric that will seam-up to be stuffed (total of $2). And I didn't feel guilty with my Scrap purchase (as I often do at craft stores that offer new goods) because all the items in Scrap, are well, scrap! So if it weren't for this organization, who is kepy afloat from my and other's purchases, then all that scrap would just become a big ol'pile of crap.

intro pictures from other scrap-seekers

picture memories over time

pictured: central swedish woods
(left picture...where's alex?)

there's a feeling a roll of film gives you that digital will never replace. it's a feeling of lost time and memories fermenting - getting more beautiful with age. the preciousness (don't waste that film!) and the waiting are far more rewarding than the clutter, disposability, and flatness of digital.

so here i share my bit old memories with you. memories that are revealing themselves with just the right amount of space in between - when the longing for the fresh, damp smell of the swedish woods arrives.

pictured: bits of regensburg, germany // alex in woods near appelfabriken

pictured: urnatur's magical forest

pictured: die grune ecke farm life, pt 1

pictured: die grune ecke farm life, pt 2

scoutOUT! - Urban Ore

Urban Ore
900 Murray St. Berkeley, CA 94710
Mon-Sat 8:30am-7pm; Sun 10am-7pm

Thrift Stores are great. Garage sales are amazing. Flea Markets can be pretty fun. Urban Ore is...

...a garage sale on steroids
there's something about milling around, searching for the perfect household item that belonged to someone else that's just grand. not only is the thing you are searching for usually unknown to you at the time, but the thing when you eventually find it is going to have a story, a history, and probably be better made (pre-70's usually means quality). it's what makes thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, and now salvage warehouses (aka urban ore) one of my favorite pastimes. and urban ore knows how to bring it on. this place is BIG. they have chairs, furniture, cooking wares, records, books, clothes, bath tubs, doors, door knobs, door hinges, door stops, windows, lights, etc. that you could easily spend a whole day looking for absolutely nothing - and be happy. the mission of urban ore is to salvage stuff before it's sent to the landfill. makes sense and i like it. i love urban ore.

...vintage shopping on the cheap
so this place has its fair share of 'vintage' items that are still a bit too pricey for my pocket, but nonetheless are cheaper than the places on valencia (hispterville) street. so if you're looking for some old ass dinning room set from the 50's this is your place. you might have to clean the cobwebs and fix a wobbly leg - but that's what'll make it yours.

...dumpster diving without the burger king wrappers
while i've never dived in the dumpster, i've always thought romantically of the practice. free stuff is cool, especially when you don't have to steal it (well technically you are stealing i guess...silly laws) and you're helping out the environment too. urban ore's outside area is a bit like dumpster diving. there are broken bits of glass everywhere, rotting chairs thrown about, and more doors and toilet bowls than you could ever imagine. it's amazing. unlike the 'vintage' goods on the inside of the warehouse, the outside area seems to house the cheaper items that haven't been priced yet. for instance take our first visit to urban ore. we found 4 awesome school chairs that definitely needed some tlc, but had a good set of bones. each priced at $3. good deal, we bought one (we're idiots and didn't buy the other 3...i'm still sad about this). next visit to urban ore - the $3 chairs were obviously sold, but some almost identical, a little cleaner sister versions of the chairs were now stored in the inside area - price: $45! ridic. yeah, still cheaper than vintage shops or even ikea (wooden chairs are pricey!), but nothing like that $3 beauty we found. i like the outside area. i like cheap goods that need help and make beautiful.

...what being lucky is all about
the best thing about thrift stores and garage sales is that when you find something awesome, you feel awesomely lucky. you don't usually feel that way when you're shelling out benjies at the flea market or vintage shop. urban ore's outside and sometimes inside areas give you that rush. on our last venture into the unknown we stumbled upon an awesome wooden bench. thing cost $15 and now we have a place to eat in the kitchen. every time i sit down i get that - damn, i'm lucky - kind of feeling. life needs more of that.

image via - you guessed it - google!
(i'm always too excited about the places i find to remember to take pictures in between all the discoveries...call me lame or lazy)

scoutOUT! - ARCH

ARCH
99 Missouri
San Francisco, CA 94107
Weekdays 9am-6pm; Sat 12pm-5pm

On my quest to find some bookbinding materials, i stumbled upon an old friend - ARCH (i had been here once when my brother used to live in sf and we were on a hunt for speciality papers). part artshop, part gift shop, this place puts Pearl to shame. I wouldn't say it can compete with the myriad of paper, book, and art stores collectively in new york, but for one place that's just a 15 minute bus ride away, it's pretty darn great.

They have a nice selection of papers and paper-type things - like cork that's paper thin (bought this!) and glow in the dark sheets (bought this too!) for ya know, making glowy things glow. and they have a 'bulk' paper section with tiny envelops, stickers, single specialty sheet, and more. if you're into making tiny worlds - they have a pretty good selection of model building supplies. and of course there's also your everyday essentials like paint, pencils, drafting odds and ends, etc. the gift part is 1/4 of the store and might be a good addition if you are looking for something to tie to the outside of a present or to go to an open house with. nothing remarkable, but clever enough to not wrap.

i went away with a large piece of davey board, some pvc glue, and everything else i bought but didn't need. ARCH, nice to be reacquainted, you are definitely a place i'll be frequently often.

picture again courtesy of google

READ! LIBRARY! CARDS!

San Francisco Library Cards
"READ" & "My Library"

I just wanted to share the awesome new library cards alex and i received today. oh library-browsing-time, how i've missed you so.

scoutOUT! - Rainbow Grocery

Rainbow Grocery
1745 Folsom Street
San Francisco CA, 94103
9am-9pm, every day

for years i heard people rave about Rainbow, so i guess it's no surprise that the place is like the best thing ever. but unlike places that are the best thing ever in new york - you actually feel like you have the space to browse. there wasn't even a line when we checked out! aaah, again, 1 million is way better than 8.

but the real bonus of Rainbow is the incredible bulk sections. now, i'm not just talking about granola bulk or fruit bulk. oh no. this is bulky bulk.

first you have the spices. sure, they are a bit pricey (we went to another spice bulk store down the street called San Francisco Herb Co. that was much cheaper) but the selection and the set up is what makes it exciting and home-like (it very much has the feel of Flower Power in ny...which i discovered way too late in my ny life to truly appreciate).

next you have the grains. lots and lots of grains. grains i wouldn't even know what to do with. and rice...lots and lots of nice varieties of rice. unlike the spices, the grains are a good deal.

but the real highlights of the bulk are the following sections (keep in mind like half the store - and it aint small - is just for bulk):
- shoyu, oils, vinegars, agave and nut butters
- shampoo, lotion, and detergent (i've been waiting to find a place where i could fill up my dr. bronner's bottles with soap - yay!)
- fresh tofu, raw sauerkraut, and pickles!
- pasta! - fresh and dried

of course there are the standard bulk items like yogurt covered whatever, legumes, granola, and what not. but it's still way better than the bulk at Whole Foods (or Sahadi's for that matter).

and while the bulk items (which i'm sure i'm forgetting half of) are the best thing about Rainbow, the selection of vegetarian geared options is amazing (there goes my savings). there are more fake meats (some are even grain-based if processed gluten makes you feel uneasy) and vegan-this-and-that type items than i've ever seen at any market. until today, i had no idea Tofurky made a pizza. or that you could buy a mini "ham" made from grains. or how scarily real fake bacon from taiwan looks (we bought it!)

on top of having everything i've ever wanted, Rainbow is an cooperative owned business. so, instead of supporting the generic grocers, your money is going to a local place and local people. Rainbow's got it right and alex and i are so excited it's just a short bike ride away!

picture via google