One Year Anniversary!

A note to subscribers, old and new. And especially if you're in the SF Bay Area, be sure to read right to the end...

A (belated) Happy Anniversary to me & you!

I just realized today that I started this Substack in July last year. July 12th to be exact so I’m almost a week late with announcing the auspicious occasion. Yep, it’s a pretty big deal so we’re waving sparklers and popping metaphorical champagne corks over here!

Also I’m delighted to welcome all the new Sane Francisco subscribers…

Thank you all for reading and engaging if you choose to (and for the record, I appreciate it when you do).

Hello to all the bright sparks! (Photo by Wout Vanacker on Unsplash)

Currently in Progress

• I swear I’m oh-so-close to finishing the first Sane Francisco podcast — here’s a lil’ teaser — which is basically a long conversation between myself and Rob MyJob about our musical & video collaborations, living amongst irrationals these last 3 years, and that old chestnut, friendship. One of the reasons why it’s taking so long (apart from the bullet points below) is because I hear (and see) all sorts of things in it and I wonder if I should turn it into something more than audio.

• I’ve been working steadily on a documentary about The Purpose of Government with Sane collaborator, Arjun. ‘Tis very interesting to work as two editors on one project, and there’s one section we’ve been swapping duties on.

• There is a new Beige Against The Machine video in the works and it will be pretty good methinks once I’ve captured some more footage for it.

• I have two videos to make and a design job that are nothing to do with Sane stuff. Or who knows, maybe they are related? In a way, all my different projects seem connected to each other which must be a good thing.

• I spend an inordinate amount of time reading posts from many authors on this platform and that feels nourishing. So many kindred spirits on here(I occasionally share their works in Notes, and you can catch some of them here.)

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(Sane Francisco) History is written by the founder

This was my first post, explaining why I founded Sane Francisco (the group, not this Substack) back in early 2021; I’ve now published 76 posts which is almost 1.5 posts per week. Thank you for reading, and engaging! I always enjoy reading your comments not to mention learning from you.

A lot has been accomplished in real life since Sane Francisco’s inception (read about Sane Achievements here, although that is not a complete list…) and I’m very glad that so many of us found each other in these crazy times. Quite a few of you have become dear, close friends.However, as of early this year, Sane Francisco underwent a necessary transformation primarily due to the fact that I could no longer keep on doing what I was doing without remuneration (ie. organizing in-person weekly meetups, managing multiple online chat rooms and bulletin boards, basically being the go-to person for anyone and everyone who needed information, connections, introductions, personal assistance, employment, therapy…, and more than I can even describe in this already too-long sentence).

As everyone knows, SF is an expensive city, and I just so happen to have an insanely high sum to pay each month for my rent and expenses. With the amount of work I did over the last 3 years trying to bring and keep us together, that created an opportunity cost since, during that period, I was not able to secure steady sources of freelance income for myself.

I appreciate everybody who is subscribed to this Substack but especially those who, without hesitation, became paid subscribers as a way to support my community-building efforts in this silly, hilly, city during Our Times of Covid.

Again, thank you very much for being a subscriber,
and especially if you signed up to be a paid subscriber!
It honestly helps so much…

That said, if you’re not in the Bay Area, and became a paid subscriber because you enjoy my work and want to support, please know that you truly are helping me — together with other Sane Franciscans — to push for reason and sanity here in The Belly of the Beast. Quite a few of us are doing work locally behind the scenes (I’ll share more when there are results to report.)

To everyone who keeps urging me to leave San Francisco for my own sake:
I am still here, and I am still doing the work.

Yikes, here’s me asking for support

I don’t think I have ever made fundraising requests on my actual Substack but a one-year anniversary is significant and perhaps the timeliest of moments to ask for support. Therefore, if you deem my work (writing, videos, music, design, wordplay, jokes… even that which extends beyond producing “content” for my Substack), to have value, all the better to bring forth a Saner world, and:

• if you are a Free Subscriber, please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber. In particular, if you have benefited from my community-building efforts these last few years and have found friends/clients/a new job/roommates/housing, etc, as a result and would like to say “thanks,” that would be ace!

• if you are a Monthly Paid Subscriber, I hope you will consider becoming an Annual Paid Subscriber (it’s cheaper by 17%). And if you’re in the Bay Area, and if I/we know you in person, please ask about joining Sane Francisco (Community) - see below.

• if you are an Annual Paid Subscriber, and you have the means, please consider becoming a Founding Saner for only a $100 more.

• Also please consider, if you have the means, gifting an Annual Subscription to your partner and/or friend(s).

Any of the above will allow me to carry out (one of) my mission(s), which is to Make Frisco Sane Again.

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Finally, a note to SF/Bay Area subscribers:

Join Sane Francisco (Community) to meet like-minded folk:

• Within the new, improved, smaller Sane Francisco (Community) format, I organize social and informative gatherings for us Sane Franciscans to meet in person. This year so far, we have had movie nights (followed by discussion), games nights, potlucks, meet-ups in restaurants, and more.

Movie Night: About 12 of us gathered to watch Plandemic 3 + Potluck in June.

• In addition, I host Analogue Saturdays when the weather is amenable (for example, as it was — amazingly so — both days this last weekend, so an Analogue Sunday happened too), where you can come meet other Saners, catch some Vitamin D, bring instruments, sing and make music, or try out slack-lining. You can also be a vendor or set up an information booth like the one below.

  

  Spoiler alert: it ain’t, ever.

• Oh, and there is a dedicated Telegram group too for Sane Francisco (Community) members.

To join Sane Francisco (Community), you would become an annual subscriber or a Founding Saner.

Thank you for reading! I’m really glad to have you in Sane (ha, don’t say that too quickly).