Ich bin ein Oaklandischer

Christian Crumlish

I think I followed Scot's link to Justin Hall's environs and ended up at the Beast Blog ("Because East Bay is Pig Latin for Beast"), reading about this Oaklandish logo:

A deco tree with big branches and big roots both - "Oaklandish." I first saw it on a sticker in the window of Walden Pond books on Grand Avenue. There's a web site, Oaklandish, run by Nonchalance.org. There's good browsing there: Oakland history from Native American "Temescal" sweat lodges to hip-hop. East Bay grafitti coverage. Pictures of memorable Oakland signs. And tales of other misadventures: slide projecting hometown heroes onto freeway underpasses. And things to buy: Oakland smart-art-boostering posters and buttons, a local history reading list.

All sorts of pride rendered in media that's not ironic or too spare, but rather luscious, rich and local. This group seems to be fighting the sad side of Oakland's underclass identification by commending urban beauty. I admire their agitprop style and perseverance. Read SF Chronicle coverage of the Nonchalance Collective. And if all that wasn't enough, there's an affiliated OakTownUnderground online event listings service.

I'd like to see Oakland-based or Oakland-related blogs and websites tied together more easily or cross-referenced more thoroughly. Lazyweb?