Deborah Lipp

Thirty years ago, my friend Russell and I ventured across the Bay to San Francisco, where we rode a bus for miles–miles!–deep into the heart of the Terra they call Incognita, all so we could wait hours in line for a movie that in that innocent era was simply called “Star Wars”.

The theater was the Coronet, and it was the only theater in the Bay Area showing the 70mm version. That made it Ground Zero for the fanatics. If you were watching the news back then and saw stories about the Star Wars phenomenon where they talked to fans waiting in line, odds are pretty good you saw the Coronet.

Over the years, I saw a dozen or so other movies there–some memorable (Fellowship of the Ring), some not so much (um…I forget). It wasn’t spectacular like the Paramount or ornate like the Alhambra, but it had a nice deco interior and it was a big single-screen theater where you felt like you were Watching A Movie.

Now I live in the neighborhood that seemed so foreign to me. Lucas has driven the Star Wars franchise into the ground with a prequel trilogy so bad it tarnishes the originals. And as of last Sunday morning, this is what was left of the Coronet.

It closed two years ago, as had most of the other single-screen theaters in San Francisco. I was sad at the time, got over it, moved on. The building stood empty, in limbo. Then a couple of weeks ago I rode by on the bus and saw that the sign was down and they had knocked down one of the walls, and it hit me all over again.

You live any place too long and this is what happens: the geography of your memory is dismantled piece by piece. You know it’ll happen but that doesn’t make it any easier. For me, the Coronet was a big piece.

More pictures below the fold… » Read more..

Hey, we’ll keep this going as long as people are interested.

The current question (and it’s a good one) is from Amy: Name the order in which the contestants of Slayerfest were taken out of commission.

It’s Tuesday…you have to get your trivia fix. I understand. So while I don’t have one of Deborah’s carefully crafted quizzes on hand, I do know that there must be trivia on Tuesday.

So this week we’ll do something a little different: a Whedonverse trivia open thread.

Here’s how it works: I post a trivia question (related to Buffy, Angel, or Firefly); whoever answers correctly gets to post another one; and so on, for as long as people want to keep it going. If you’re certain of your answer, go ahead and post the question; if not, let someone confirm first. If you don’t have a good question to hand, you can waive, and then it’s open to the first person to post a question.

So here’s a not-too-difficult starting question: What distinction do Angel and Harmony (and only Angel and Harmony) share?

You’ve doubtless heard by now that Tammy Faye Messner has died. Melissa McEwen reposts a sweet, moving tribute (from a couple of years ago) that I think is the best eulogy I’ve seen. Here’s a taste (then go read the rest):

Even though her husband, and many of their PTL associates, seemed like insincere rabble, just out for the last dimes in the handbags of little old ladies, Tammy always struck me as the genuine article—a woman who was filled with boundless faith and love. She also seemed like someone with whom I’d really enjoy sitting and having a long conversation, diametrically different as we are, because she was interesting and thoughtful, and most of all, very funny….

Tammy Faye proved herself to be the genuine article after all, ignoring the increasingly vitriolic anti-gay noise from much of the evangelical community, and becoming an out-spoken gay rights advocate, even penning a gay youth advice column, raising awareness about the disproportionate incidences of teen suicide among gay teens, criticizing the church for not welcoming gays, and celebrating pride festivities with her new legions of gay fans. Tammy Faye had been a drag icon for years (it’s all about the make-up!), but her activism wasn’t motivated by a realization there was a community she could cynically exploit for a comeback; instead she was moved by a desire to make sure that desperate gay teens knew they were loved, too. Even if their churches, their friends, or even their parents didn’t…she did.

Tammy Faye Messner proved Fitzgerald wrong with a second act that redeemed the grotesque farce of her first. She will be missed.

The Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map of the World

This site is awesome. The maps posted there range from the thought–provoking to the crackpot to the historical to the fanciful to the just plain fun, but what they have in common is that they make you look at the world just a little bit differently.

…so here’s a picture. Velvet Stickseed (Hackelia velutina), Kibbie Ridge, Yosemite National Park.