Randy's Guide 3-4-6

Music
Say what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave.
 -- "Brave," by Sara Bareilles (1.4 million views, May '13 upload)

* June 23: Golden Gate Park's Sharon Meadow

Previous songs: Down to the River to Pray (Alison Krauss); Three Rounds and a Sound (Blind Pilot); Chicken Fried (Zac Brown Band); The Story (Brandi Carlile); Lucky One (Pure Bathing Culture); Easy Way Out (Gotye); Hell or High Water (William Elliott Whitmore); Hymn #101 (Joe Pug); Midnight City (M83); So American (Portugal. The Man); Carry On (Fun.); Remembrance (Balmorhea); Miss Atomic Bomb (The Killers); Take a Walk (Passion Pit); Closer (Tegan and Sara); It's Time (Imagine Dragons); Higher (Matt Nathanson); Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second (STRFKR); So Many Details (Toro Y Moi); Ho Hey (Lumineers); Winter Winds (Mumford & Sons); Wanted (Hunter Hayes); Levels (Avicii); The A Team (Ed Sheeran); Hold On (Alabama Shakes); Don't You Worry Child (Swedish House Mafia); Lonely Boy (The Black Keys); It's a War (Blackbird, Blackbird); Man on Fire (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros); Big Girl (Mika); Step (Vampire Weekend); All of Me (Tanlines); King and Lionheart (Of Monsters and Men); Celestica (Crystal Castles); Angels (The xx); Out of My League (Fitz & the Tantrums); If I Know You (The Presets); Dumb Disco Ideas (Holy Ghost!); Even If I Could (Rachael Yamagata); Tired Eyes (The Trophy Fire); Knock Knock (Band of Horses); Around the Block (Pretty Lights).



Current Event
Alt-folk singer Michelle Shocked has announced a free concert, sponsored by SF Examiner, to be held during Pride Weekend in San Francisco, as well as an interview and op-ed with SF Weekly.

"Once Prop 8 gets (overturned), and once preachers are held at gunpoint and forced to marry the homosexuals, I'm pretty sure that will be a signal for Jesus to come on back."
 -- Michelle Shocked, during a March 17 performance at Yoshi's SF

"We weren't going to take some hate-mongering homophobic ad... so we decided the only way we'd do this is if (she'd) come to San Francisco, put on a free show, be honest and up front about it."
 -- Todd Vogt, President of SF Examiner, SF Bay Guardian, and SF Weekly


Food
La Bonne Soupe Cafe
920 8th St. (at J St.)
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 492-9506
Yelp

It pretty much is a one-man show, as the chef-owner prepares your sandwich and dishes out your soup or salad. I really, really like the lobster tomato bisque, with a half-sandwich of one of the specials. It's only open during weekday lunches. 4-1/2 stars - 582 reviews

Previous San Francisco picks: Radius; Limon Rotisserie; Art's Cafe; Little Star Pizza; Yamo; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Humphry Slocombe; Tu Lan; Foreign Cinema; Zanze's Cheesecake; San Tung; Katana-Ya; A La Turca; Boxing Room; Frances; Saigon Sandwich; Brenda's French Soul Food; Park Tavern; Broken Record; Rosamunde Sausage Grill; Curry Up Now; Yasukochi's Sweet Stop; Lime Tree Southeast Asian Kitchen; Firefly; Red Door Cafe; L'Ardoise Bistro; Pluto's; My Tofu House; Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous; Walzwerk; Good Luck Dim Sum; Amber India; Sotto Mare; Sweet Maple; Shanghai Dumpling King; Super Duper; Kokkari Estiatorio; Olea; Bodega Bistro; The Chairman Truck; Molinari Delicatessen; Wayfare Tavern; Wexler's; Thorough Bread & Pastry; Lers Ros Thai; Helmand Palace; HRD Coffee Shop; Fat Angel; Aperto; Pho Huynh Hiep 2; Ted's Deli; Zero Zero; Zazie; Shalimar; Swan Oyster Depot; Dottie's True Blue Cafe; La Taqueria; Chez Maman; Radio Habana Social Club; Tony's Pizza Napoletana; Hard Knox Cafe; Shabusen; Ragazza; Morty's Delicatessen; Hawaiian Drive Inn #28; Just For You Cafe; Woodhouse Fish Co; Han Il Kwan.

Previous Peninsula/South Bay picks: Curry Up Now (San Mateo); Little Lucca Sandwich Shop & Deli (Burlingame/South SF); Falafel's Drive In (San Jose); Sunny Bowl (Mountain View); Back A Yard Caribbean Grill (Menlo Park); Pluto's (Palo Alto/San Jose); Ramen Dojo/Ramen Parlor (San Mateo); Amber India (Mountain View/San Jose/Palo Alto); Nini's Coffee Shop (San Mateo); Kabab and Curry's (Santa Clara); Fiddler's Green (Millbrae); Alana's Cafe (Burlingame); Sushi Sam's Edomata (San Mateo); Shanghai Dumpling Shop (Millbrae).
Previous East Bay picks: Little Star Pizza (Albany); Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen (Berkeley); Asmara (Oakland); Keanu's Island Kine Food (Vacaville); Tara's Organic Ice Cream (Berkeley/Oakland); Pluto's (Chico/Davis/Sacramento/Roseville); Bakesale Betty (Oakland); Zachary's Pizza (Oakland/Berkeley/San Ramon); Gregoire (Berkeley/Oakland); Val's Burgers (Hayward); Homeroom (Oakland); Jong Ga House (Oakland); Cheese Board Pizza (Berkeley); Vik's Chaat (Berkeley); Wat Mongkoratanaram (Berkeley); Phnom Penh House (Oakland); Luka's Taproom & Lounge (Oakland); First Street Ale House (Livermore).

Previous North Bay picks: Bouchon Bakery (Yountville); Della Fattoria Bakery (Petaluma); Sol Food (San Rafael); Stumptown Brewery (Guerneville); Moustache Baked Goods (Healdsburg); Super Duper (Mill Valley); The Pelican Inn (Muir Beach); Garden Grill (Guerneville); Buckeye Roadhouse (Mill Valley).

Previous Other picks: Shoki Ramen House (Sacramento); Built to Grill (Portland); Freshies (South Lake Tahoe); Mon Ami Gabi (Las Vegas); Fox & Goose Public House (Sacramento).


Nightlife
Mercantile Saloon
1928 L St. (at 20th St.)
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 447-0792
Yelp

The Merc offers a large outdoor patio, perfect for those warm summer evenings, and a welcoming, diverse crowd. It's cash only and rather affordable. 4 stars - 215 reviews

Previous San Francisco picks: Blackbird; El Rio; Rickhouse; Southern Pacific Brewing; The Hidden Vine; Vesuvio; The Pig & Whistle; Biergarten; Martuni's; Tosca Cafe; Toronado; The Alembic; Trad'r Sam; Sugar Lounge; Speakeasy Ales & Lagers; Lucky 13; Hotel Biron; Bottom of the Hill; Blackthorn; Local Edition; Magnolia Pub & Brewery; Whiskey Thieves; Bourbon & Branch; The Monk's Kettle; Amsterdam Cafe; Aunt Charlie's Lounge; Latin American Club; Two Sisters Bar and Books; Doc's Clock; 15 Romolo; Thee Parkside; The Social Study; The Page; Rye; Bloodhound; Azucar Lounge; The Residence; Tommy's Mexican.

Previous Peninsula/South Bay picks: Antonio's Nut House (Palo Alto); The Oasis Beer Garden (Menlo Park); Rose and Crown (Palo Alto); Fiddler's Green (Millbrae).

Previous East Bay picks: The Trappist (Oakland); Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon (Oakland); The Turf Club (Hayward); Jupiter (Berkeley); St. George Spirits (Alameda); Drake's Barrel House (San Leandro); JC Cellars (Oakland); Dashe Cellars (Oakland); Room 389 (Oakland); Beer Revolution (Oakland); Make Westing (Oakland); Altamont Beer Works (Livermore).

Previous North Bay picks: Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma); Bear Republic Brewing Co. (Healdsburg); Tourist Club (Mill Valley).

Previous Other pick: New Deal Distillery (Portland); Stateline Brewery (South Lake Tahoe); The Garage (Las Vegas); The Shady Lady Saloon (Sacramento). 


History
James W. Marshall
(1810-1885)

The farmer-carpenter left New Jersey as a young adult and lived in various frontier areas such as Indiana and Missouri. After contracting malaria, he headed west to Oregon and finally California. He served as part of the Bear Flag Revolt and worked as a sawmill operator for Sutter's Fort. Marshall's discovery of gold proved unfortunate for him; his sawmill, vineyard, and gold mine all failed. He died penniless in a small cabin. Marshall Way and Marshall Medical Center, both in Placerville, are named after him.

Previous San Francisco history: John Geary; Samuel Brannan; Michael O'Shaughnessy; Jasper O'Farrell; Frank McCoppin; Thomas Hayes; Francisco de Haro; Jose Bernal; David Broderick; Henry Haight; John Townsend; Cyril Magnin; Jose Arguello; Keiko Fukuda; John Le Conte; Eugene Schmitz; Theodore Judah; Herb Caen; James Phelan; Lawrence Ferlinghetti; Angelo Rossi; Charles Brenham; Warren Hellman; John McLaren; Dogpatch; Thomas Larkin; Nancy Pelosi; Levi Strauss; John Sloat; Jose Sarria; William D.M. Howard; Edwin Bryant; George Davidson; William Alvord; George Moscone; Jack Early; Thomas Starr King; Minnie Ward; Rosalie Stern; Carlton Goodlett; Phillip Burton; Jose de Jesus Noe; Frederick Funston.

Previous Peninsula/South Bay history: Millbrae; Tanforan Racetrack; T. Jack Foster; Leland Stanford; Milpitas; Donald Tresidder; Josiah Belden; Hiram Morgan Hill; Simon Mezes; James Forbes; Henry Coe, Jr.; John Gilroy; Joseph Grant; Henry Naglee; Anson Burlingame; William Ralston; Paul Trousdale.

Previous East Bay history: Charles Tilden; William Hayward; John Fremont; Mariano Vallejo; Ygnacio Martinez; Henry Kaiser; Anthony Chabot; Thomas Caldecott; Laurentine Hamilton; Joel Clayton; Edson Adams; Robert Crown; Samuel Merritt; Joaquin Miller; Robert Livermore.

Previous North Bay history: Cotati; Charles Fairfax; Luther Burbank; William Richardson; Oscar and James Shafter; George Guerne; Frank Doyle; Samuel Taylor; Harrison Standley; Helen Putnam

Previous Other history: Francis Pettygrove (Portland); Betty Willis (Las Vegas); Esteban Munras (Monterey); John Sutter, Jr. (Sacramento).


Charity
Charity: Re-volv. Quite simple, really. Individual donors contribute to a solar funding pool. The pool then helps build solar energy projects at community centers. The community centers lease the solar equipment, with the payments reinvested into the solar funding pool.

Previous organizations Randy's Guide has spotlighted and donated: Common Ground Relief, LYRIC, Aldea Inc., Glide Memorial, City CarShare, Maitri, Loaves and Fishes, Friends of the Urban Forest, Farm Sanctuary, Bay Area Community Services, Blue Energy, My New Red Shoes, College Track, Foundation for the People of Burma, Vital Life Services, Little Angel Fund, San Francisco Health Services Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Bay Localize, San Francisco Women Against Rape, Sustainable Conservation, Ashoka, Old Skool Cafe, Darfur Sister Schools, Rebuilding Together San Francisco, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Urban Solutions, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, Shanti, Curry Without Worry, SF Neighborhood Theater Foundation, La Cocina, Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California, The Bike Kitchen, First Graduate, Lazarex Cancer Foundation (Amy C), KQED (88.5 FM), FabMo Creativity Center; Duboce/Valencia Fire Relief; The Coming Home Project; Urban Tilth; Queer Lifespace.


Weekend Weather
Slight warming trend over the next few days, particularly for the inland.

~ Thursday ~
Coast: low-60s
SF: mid-60s
Bay: upper-60s
South Bay: mid-70s
Inland East Bay: upper-70s
North Bay: low-80s

~ Friday ~
Coast: mid-60s
SF: upper-60s
Bay: low-70s
South Bay: upper-70s
Inland East Bay: low-80s
North Bay: mid-80s

~ Saturday ~
Coast: mid-60s
SF: low-70s
Bay: low-70s
South Bay: upper-70s
Inland East Bay: mid-80s
North Bay: upper-80s

~ Sunday ~
Coast: low-60s
SF: low-70s
Bay: low-70s
South Bay: upper-70s
Inland East Bay: low-80s
North Bay: mid-80s

 
Free Activities
1. Alice Summerthing 2013
Sunday, noon-5pm

Ed Sheeran, Sara Bareilles, and Ginny Blackmore provide the tunes at Alice 97.3 FM's annual concert in Golden Gate Park's Sharon Meadow. Arrive early to avoid the lines, or camp out a spot in the shaded hills just outside the multi-foot fences.

2. Castro Block Party
Wednesday, 6:30pm

Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act should receive a ruling later this month. Most analysts (including this writer) believe at the very least California will resume gay marriages after the rulings. Castro St. will host two stages replete with speeches, drag queens, live DJ music, and a lot of revelers.

3. Summer Solstice
- Beach Bonfire: Thursday, 7:30pm
- Solstice Walk: Friday, 4pm
- Solstice Drumming Circle: Sunday, 6pm

While I'll be basking in over 19 hours of sunshine in the Great State, several solstice events are happening here. Ocean Beach, The Parks Conservancy, and Berkeley's Foundation of the Sacred Stream are among the hosts.