To clarify something before I started with my main post. Several people have asked me who is that Erik and his companion Šime...
Erik je nastao kao nadimak zbog junaka serije Vesele sedamdesete koja je bila emitovana sredinom 2000-tih na TV B92, s kojim sam imao sličnosti u izgledu i oblačenju ("retro"). Od zezanja je došlo do toga da mi u parku ljudi prilaze i kažu "Izvini, ali ti jako ličiš na Erika Formena..." Ime bloga je bilo inspirisano imenom mančesterskog muzičara i DJ-a A guy called Gerald, koji se nalazi na soundtrack-u 24 hour party people. Dani kada smo Tazza, Xenia i ja vijali muziku kao DJ tim Kerozeena & The Star-Children... Kad smo kod toga, evo i ranijeg posta o timu na engleskom, pisan inicijalno za Last.fm, iako fotografija više nema - neke su dostupne na Myspace profilu koji godinama nismo koristili.
Erik is a nickname of a character of Those '70s Show which was broadcasted in mid 2000's on B92 TV, whose looks mysteriously appeared similar to mine's ("retro"). From jokes it have become serious when people started approaching me in a park saying "Excuse me, but you remind me of Eric Foreman...". In addition, blog's name was inspired by the name of Mancunian musician and DJ A guy called Gerald, which is featured on 24 hour party people soundtrack. Those were the days when Tazza, Xenia and me played music DJ team Kerozeena & The Star-Children... Speaking about it, here's an earlier post about us then, which I wrote as Last.fm note, although there are no more photos visible, some of them are visible via Myspace profile which we haven't been using for years.
A Šime? Šime je interni nadimak između moje tetke iz Zagreba i mene, podstaknut reklamom za Eva sardine.
Vratimo se Berkliju...
And Šime? It's an internal nickname between me and my aunt from Zagreb, inspired by a saying and an ad for Eva sardines.
Let's get back to Berkeley...
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| Mural na Telegraph aveniji, koja pokriva oko 7km između Berklija i Ouklanda (šetnja od skoro dva sata) / A mural on Telegraph avenue, a street which covers about 7km between Berkeley and Oakland |
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| Muzička prodavnica Amoeba na Telegraph aveniji: puno reminiscencija na hipi eru (muzičke prodavnice, polovna odeća, ručno rađeni nakit, štandovi na ulici, uz povremen miris marihuane) / Amoeba music shop on Telegraph ave: load of reminiscences of hippie era (music shops, second hand clothing, hand made jewelery, street stands, with casual smell of marijuana) |
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| Pacific center, jedna od najstarijih institucija u zemlji namenjena zdravstvenom i mentalnom radu sa LGBTQ zajednicom / Pacific center, one of oldest organizations in the country dedicated to health and mental work with LGBTQ community |
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| Berkeley, Univerzitet u Kaliforniji / University of CA, Berkeley |
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Staring with plants, here's a couple of photos from SF botanical garden. This "garden" covers a part of huge Golden gate park. Apart from feeling that I'm in a vast forest, there are several parts with "exhibitions" of plants from tropical forests of Southern Andes, Mesoamerica, Chilean, Californian, Australian and Mediterranean fauna... A part called Garden of fragrance was a delight to my nose!
Pozorišta i bioskopi... sve sa lampicama i natpisima.
And now - theaters... with flashy small lamps and joyful letters.
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| Da, Monti Pajtoni imaju "oproštajnu" turneju, povampireni pod nazivom Monty Python live (mostly) / Yes, Monty Python's Flying Circus had its "farewell" tour |
Jedna poseta SF otkrila mi je, pored mnoštva azijsko-afričko-mediteranskih prodavnica i restorana i ruski "kutak" u okviru Geary ulice. Pekara nazvana Moscow & Tbilisi Russian bakery otvorila mi je apetit sa "piroški", goveđim burekom, i pecivom sa makom (kolač, trougao, štrudla, rolnica).
One visit to SF led me to, apart to Asian-African-Mediterranean shops and restaurants, to a Russian area in Geary street. A bakery called simply Moscow & Tbilisi Russian bakery had opened my appetite with pirogues, beef burek and pastries with poppy seeds (cookie, triangle, strudel and roll).
Turistička radoznalost u okruženju koje nudi mnogo na sve strane postaje stepenica za dalje "kopanje" po kulturi i istoriji ovog grada.
Touristic curiosity in an environment which offers much behind every corner (so to speak) makes it an extra challenge to dig up more about the culture and the history of this city.
Čitajući o SF, trenutno iz pera novinara Davida Talbota (knjiga Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love), sve više razumem raznolikost ("rasa", kultura, jezika, hrane, religija, seksualnih opredeljenja i dr) ovog grada. Grad koji obećava novu priliku je dugo vremena bio nada ljudima koji su dolazili iz cele Amerike i sveta - bilo da se radilo o kopačima zlata, irskim i italijanskim radničkim porodicama, hipicima, gejevima i lezbejkama. SF je nosio (i još uvek nosi) auru otvorenosti i prihvatanja.
Reading about San Francisco, at the moment from a book Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love by journalist David Talbot, I'm gradually understanding the diversity of this city (whether it comes to "races", cultures, languages, food, religions, sexuality, etc). The city which offers a new chance was for a long time a sign of hope to people coming from all over USA - and the rest of the world - whether they were gold diggers, Irish and Italian blue-collar families, hippies, gays and lesbians. SF had (and still has) an aura of openness and acceptance.
Međutim, do te slobode i prihvaćenosti je došlo preko mnogobrojnih konflikata među njegovim stanovnicima, političarima i aktivistima, levih i desnih, konzervativaca i liberala... Čitajući Talbotovu knjigu, čini mi se da je otpor establišmentu (po pitanju ljudskih prava svih zajednica i manjina od kojih su ovaj region i grad sastavljeni) izgradio solidnu bazu društvenog aktivizma, komšijskih organizacija i brige za svoje građane/ke, koji je vidljiv u svakodnevnom životu. I to je proces koji je stalno u toku, nikad završen. Oslanjanje na sistem dolazi preko nezadovoljstva sistemom i izgradnje boljeg sistema - ovde se čini zgodna Gandijeva rečenica "Budi promena koju želiš da vidiš".
Although, to reach that freedom and acceptance one needed to bridge multiple conflicts between its inhabitants, politicians and activists, leftists and far rights, conservatives and liberals... Reading Talbot's book, it seems to me that the resistance to the establishment (regarding human rights of all communities and minorities which make this city) have developed a solid base of social activism, neighborhood support and care system, visible in daily life. And that's a process which is always ongoing, never finished. Relying on the system is one of the stadiums between being dissatisfied with it, and wishing to build a better one - it's seems very convenient to quote Gandhi here with "Be the change you want to see".
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| Paparaco dok završavam knjigu Season of the witch... Paparazzi while reading! |
Na kraju krajeva, pomalo idealistično, mislim da bilo koji sistem koji ne uzima u obzir sve protagoniste na društveno-političkoj sceni osuđuje sebe na propast jer misli da drugima može da nalaže šta da rade, ne bi li postali kao oni - kao slika u ogledalu vrednosti, uverenja, stavova... umesto dolaženja do zajedničkog tla. Ovaj mehurić nama sličnih svi pravimo, u manjoj ili većoj meri, ali on postaje opasan ako se preslika na celu zajednicu.
After all, in a slightly idealistic manner, I think that every system that doesn't take into account all protagonists in the political-social scene is condemning itself to failure, thinking it can boss everyone, wishing that the rest should become like it is - as a mirror picture, of its values, attitudes... instead of reaching a common ground. This bubble of surrounding oneself with familiar and making the world like it we all do - this way or another - but it becomes hazard if it becomes a solo image of any community.
Nazad ka fotografijama - kad smo kod raznolikosti, ko odluči da pešači po SF, neka se pripremi na brda.
Back to photos - speaking about diversity, who wants to walk SF, needs to be prepared to many hills.
Pogled na Pacifički okean - Ocean view...
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| Ko god misli da uz more, surfere i Kaliforniju ide 30+ stepeni (celzijusa), vara se... Sea, surf, sun & CA in August with 30 degrees Celsius? NO! |
Za kraj ovog bloga - u Ouklandu je u subotu bio održan drugi afrički festival pod nazivom UMOJA u Lowell parku, na 20min. od centra. Ceo park je bio posvećem ovoj manifestaciji - dva improvizovana terena su bila namenjena fudbalskom takmičenju različitih timova (Nigerijski, Etiopski... u zavisnosti od brojnosti učesnika), štandovi sa hranom, odećom, suvenirima, kao i binom sa muzičkim programom koja je bila centar dešavanja.
To conclude this blog - in Saturday Oakland had 2nd African festival called UMOJA in Lowell park,some 20min. by walking from center. The whole park was dedicated to this manifestation - two improvised football ground had a competition in (European) football (Nigerian, Ethiopian team... depending from the number of participants), food stands & trucks, clothing, souvenirs, as well as a stage with music program as a highlight.
Većina ljudi je dolazila iz Ouklanda i okoline - primetno su se ljudi družili (kao da se svi znaju), park je imao šmek piknika (ćebići, kučići, deca), a ja sam ulazio u 10% posetioca koji nisu bili afro-amerikaci. Nastupali su bendovi iz Južnoafričke republike, Zimbabvea, Nigerije... mene je najviše zanimao afrobit bend Lagos Roots.
Most people came from Oakland area - it was noticeable how people were hanging out (like everybody knows everybody), the park had a feeling of a big picnic (blankets, dogs, kids), while I was one of 10% of the visitors who weren't Afro-Americans. Many bands performed - from South African republic, Zimbabwe, Nigeria... for me, the most interesting ones were Lagos Roots.
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| Tell it! |
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| Fudbal |
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| Obratite pažnju na starog hipika s leve strane! / Check the old hippie dancing on the left |
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| Piwai iz Zimbabvea |
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| Lagos roots afrobeat ensemble |
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| Nazad ka BART stanici... Back to BART station
U skladu sa Talbotovom knjigom, još jedan kalifornijski bend - Dead Kennedys - u obradi i interpretaciji pesme I fought the law - kritikuju sistem povodom političkog ubistva Džordža Moskonea i Harvija Milka.
In line with the book, another Californian band - Dead Kennedys - with cover and interpretation of a song I fought the law - criticizing the system after the political assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk. |
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