The Guardian asks if San Francisco is “losing its soul.”
Critics say that San Francisco’s communities of alternative culture, ethnic or otherwise – the soil of its creative mojo and legendary social movements – are being turned into playgrounds for rich people. If San Francisco’s soul is its social and economic diversity and status as a refuge for those outside the mainstream, then it is being lost.
Here’s the thing: When people speak romantically about a city’s bohemian glory days, they are usually referring to a gritty, often-crime-ridden period that appealed to artists, burnouts, and poor people of all persuasions because the rents and cost of living were low. Once the crime rate decreases and the area is perceived as safer, what is euphemistically called “gentrification” or more accurately “white-ification” becomes inevitable.
Historically, urban centers were abandoned by the white middle class (even now, “urban” is a euphemism for minorities). The people who remained — young artists, gays, and so on — helped create that perceived “soul,” which slowly starts to appeal to the white middle class and beyond. The “hipster” class have also hung on the youth much longer than past generations who turned 30, got married, moved to the suburbs and had kids. Now doctors with nose rings live in Williamsburg and Portland.
I lived in New York during the Giuliani and the first 100 years of the Bloomberg administrations. I watched as many of the inconveniences of city life were erased — mostly crime related under Giuliani and more overall quality of life under Bloomberg (e.g. the smoking ban). People started to stay and raise kids in Manhattan who previously would have left for Westchester. Thus, the city that still felt in places like Taxi Driver when I arrived became more like Manhattan when I left, which is regrettable but is arguably progress.
serhasacomplaint 
Popcorn Chronicles…
Mark Evanier’s recent post about Skinny Pop Popcorn reminded me of my own experience with homemade popcorn. My mother and I enjoyed many an episode of Remington Steele, Dark Shadows, and Star Trek: The Next Generation among other favorite shows while munching away on a bowl of fresh popcorn.
Popcorn cooked on the stovetop was the not-so-heart-healthy option we originally used.
We’d sometimes splurge on Jiffy Pop popcorn, which when you’re a kid was a night’s entertainment itself.
http://youtu.be/rWpD27TQUmw
Professor von Jiffy Pop, who was later tried and convicted for war crimes, doesn’t tell you that trying to eat Jiffy Pop right out of the bag will turn the ends of your fingers into burned corn kernels.
I fondly recall my family’s mid-1980s purchase of Orville Redenbacher’s hot air popcorn popper. The butter that melted in the container as the popcorn cooked was delicious science in action. I also wore a chef’s outfit whenever making popcorn with the device.
I remember the claim of “virtually no unpopped kernels” being slightly less successful in practice. You’d also wind up with a few blackened pieces, but they still went down well with enough butter and “seasoning” (a salty spicy mixture that while advertised as not being salt still puckered your lips after a couple bites).
Tonight perhaps I’ll whip up some popcorn and watch a few episodes of Law & Order on Netflix.
Posted by Stephen Robinson on February 26, 2014 in Social Commentary
Tags: Jiffy Pop, Mark Evanier, Orville Redenbacher, popcorn