Many have been lamenting, as more and more tech nerds clog our streets and apartment buildings, and as San Francisco gets dubbed "the nation's new success theater," that San Francisco is losing its edge, its artists, and its beloved weirdness. The Bold Italic went so far as to proclaim today that "S.F. Will Never Be As Weird As It Used to Be," but we're here to say that that's taking things a little too far.
All kinds of creative, "weird," eccentric people remain here, and all kinds of creative, weird and eccentric people continue to want to live here, despite its difficulties and the cost of rent. There are still kooky communal living situations and all kinds of flophouses where twenty-somethings are flopping, trying to make a go of it despite all the pessimistic headlines.
So, today, SFist is launching a semi-regular series highlighting all those marvelous people, and events, that are keeping San Francisco Weird because we don't need to be whiney about changing demographics and economic booms in the style of our Portland brethren. S.F. still hates formula retail and we still have Folsom Street Fair and the How Weird Faire and Carol Doda. We may have banned public nudity, but it's going to take a lot more than a few skimpy loin cloths and Google buses to kill the wild, irreverent, and oddity-embracing spirit of this city. (And let's not forget that America might not even have strippers, or bearded drag queens, if it weren't for S.F.)
With that, we bring you our first evidence: This young man who appeared on the popular busking corner of 18th and Castro on Friday, lip synching and dancing his heart out to that great Flashdance-soundtrack classic, "What a Feeling," by Irene Cara, wearing a Flashdance appropriate cutoff t-shirt. The performer's name might be Mary Magdalene, which is displayed on the sign behind her.
Warning: The video is semi-NSFW, for reasons of bare ass. Hat tip to Dino Medardo Rosso for the video.