For as much affection as I have for my native Bay Area, there is one inescapable fact about San Francisco: It turns you arrogant! If you think New Yorkers are vain about their addresses, look out. You can actually monitor the length of residency in SF by the rate of decrease in trips taken outside the city. After all, why leave when everything outside this 7 x 7 mile radius is dog shit? [Note: downtown San Francisco has more dog and human shit wiped on its sidewalks than the grimiest corner of Paris. This also is a point of pride.]

So it's interesting to me that SF food/culture/music blog The Bold Italic is breaking character and hitting the road for something called "The Bold Rush"—a West Coast tour of hip San Francisco exports meshed with hip local things for pop-up events and parties in LA, Portland, and Seattle. They'll be in town next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Cleaners, with SF Vietnamese street food cuties Rice Paper Scissors, American Tripps (a "Berlin-style ping pong night"). These will combine with Portland institutions like Paxton Gate (which not coincidentally originated in SF), M'Lady's Records, Eyes + Edge, Hand-Eye Supply, Imaginary Authors, Lowell, and Fortport.

"The idea is not to impose San Francisco upon these cities," says Bold Rush-affiliate Jonathan Kim, "but to share what we love, while showcasing local writers, businesses, and artists in each particular city. It's somewhat of a cultural/social exchange, sharing what we love about San Francisco, while learning about all the cool things and people each individual market has to offer." To that end, the pop-up shop will be open from noon-5 pm on both Oct 2 and 3, and a ping-pong party with DJs, food, and a cash bar scheduled from 7-10 pm. There's no cover for any of this, but RSVP is requested.

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