Loud Etudes

reimagining printed travel guides
culture. stories. places. all over the world
san francisco limited guide pre-orders soon
by @knarikava @katrincathey

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Notes from Man Mo Temple, Hong Kong

We arrived at the temple five minutes before closing. One of the men working there took one look at us, understood we wanted to experience the ritual, and within seconds the whole thing had turned into a speed run.

Red candles first. Light them. Put them here. Next. He seemed to enjoy the urgency of it all.

At one point, he was laughing, waving us from one station to another while I tried to keep up. “Don’t forget the incense for money!” he shouted. “Quickly, quickly!” Even the gods have closing hours.

[knarik @knarikava]

hong kong on film 📸

[knarik @knarikava]

this weekend, the sf photobook fair is back to harvey milk photo center from 11am-5pm.

40 publishers, independent presses, and artists are bringing their photography books, magazines, and zines.

can't wait to see all the works. all publishers listed here: https://t.co/VzYeWveUIf

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Every month, we're going to publish what we collected in one selected country: our stories, interviews and curated recommendations; its celebrations, traditions and cultural observations; its sounds, art and literature. All with photographs shot on 35mm film.

We'll announce the first country in November 1.

[knarik @knarikava]

supporting small local businesses is so underrated.

'books & bookshelves' bookstore has been in san francisco since 1985, selling used books, small-press poetry and actual bookshelves too!

on a few of my visits, no one was there. it definitely deserves more visitors, drop by if you're around duboce triangle.

share about a small local business around your corner that deserves more attention. shot on film:

[knarik @knarikava]

one of my favourite films, and still the most beautiful portrait of san francisco: hitchcock’s vertigo from 1958

[knarik @knarikava]

some travel books make you feel like you’re wandering the world right beside characters

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Sounds of the World: Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Recorded on 19 May 2024

[knarik @knarikava]

8 books banned or censored in the countries listed below:

- azerbaijan - stone dreams by akram aylisli (2012) an azerbaijani actor, hospitalized after protecting an armenian man from a mob, reflects on ethnic violence and a past of peaceful coexistence. (since im armenian i appreciate the bravery of akram writing about us with empathy).

- syria - in praise of hatred by khaled khalifa (2006) a young woman in 1980s aleppo is drawn into religious extremism as syria's dictatorship violently suppresses the muslim brotherhood.

- bangladesh - lajja (shame) by taslima nasrin (1993) a hindu family in bangladesh faces anti-hindu violence after the destruction of india's babri mosque in 1992.

- cuba - before night falls by reinaldo arenas (1992) arenas recounts his life as a gay cuban writer, from rural poverty through persecution and imprisonment to exile in new york.

- iran - women without men by shahrnush parsipur (1989) five iranian women escape the restrictions of family and society and come together in a garden outside tehran.

- saudi arabia - cities of salt by abdul rahman munif (1984) the discovery of oil transforms an arab oasis community, exposing the power of its rulers and the americans who arrive there.

- south africa - burger's daughter by nadine gordimer (1979) rosa burger tries to build a life of her own while carrying the political legacy of her revolutionary parents.

- egypt - children of the alley by naguib mahfouz (1959) generations in a cairo neighborhood retell humanity's religious history as an allegory, with figures echoing god and the prophets, through struggles over power, justice, and freedom.

what else did i miss?

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Cafe Trieste in San Francisco shot on 35mm

[knarik @knarikava]

if you are in north beach, make the stop at caffe trieste, the closest thing to time travel san francisco has.

in 1947, istria stopped being italy. the peninsula was handed to communist yugoslavia, italian homes were nationalized, and 300,000 italians packed up and left. giovanni giotta, a fisherman from rovigno, was one of them.

he ended up in san francisco - the one city in america where an italian fisherman wasn't a stranger. north beach spoke italian, the wharf was full of italian fishing boats, and saints peter and paul church took his family in.

later on giovanni washed windows for a living, and sang opera while he worked. they called him "the singing window washer." in 1956 he opened caffe trieste, named for the port city of the coast he'd lost. it was the first espresso bar on the west coast. their jukebox still plays opera, and they still accept cash only.

then the world came to him. coppola wrote the godfather at the back table. kerouac, ginsberg, ferlinghetti were regulars. every saturday since 1971 the family hosts a free three-hour concert. the nobel poet joseph brodsky wrote about it: "nothing has changed here. neither the furniture nor the weather." 70 years on, that was always the point.

trieste on 35mm, i've shot last year:

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Hong Kong storefronts

Some cities keep their oldest selves on the street, packed into a few meters

[knarik @knarikava]

the san juan ferry route on 35mm film

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 35mm film

[knarik @knarikava]

if you are in san francisco for a16z tech week, here are some legendary historic restaurants that people love:

- tadich grill (cioppino)
- house of prime rib (house cut)
- swan oyster depot (oysters + crab louie)
- fior d'italia (pasta)
- old clam house (clam chowder)
- sam's grill (petrale sole)
- john's grill (lamb chops)
- anchor oyster bar (oysters + cioppino)
- original joe's (joe's special)
- schroeder's (schnitzel)
- tommy's joynt (turkey)
- harris' (porterhouse)
- scoma's (lazy man's cioppino)
- zuni cafe (roast chicken)
- yank sing (dim sum)
- la taqueria (carne asada burrito)
- red's java house (cheeseburger)
- thanh long (roast crab + garlic noodles)
- pacific cafe (petrale + rex sole)
- r&g lounge (salt & pepper crab)

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

In Tbilisi you can’t help but notice these courtyards, gilded by sunlight, where ropes with brightly colored laundry hang like vines.

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

A great platform for working with archival photographs of San Francisco

[knarik @knarikava]

love browsing historical film photography of san francisco.

opensfhistory, run by the nonprofit western neighborhoods project, is a photo archive with nearly 50,000 images of the city dating back to the 1850s through the 1970s.

https://t.co/Fhu9xvFnHy

[knarik @knarikava]

love browsing historical film photography of san francisco.

opensfhistory, run by the nonprofit western neighborhoods project, is a photo archive with nearly 50,000 images of the city dating back to the 1850s through the 1970s.

https://t.co/Fhu9xvFnHy

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Then they're off, delivering it as fast as they dodge traffic rules.

The shift ends and they skate off with friends, grabbing onto cars for speed, racing toward the crimson glow of the city.

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

Travel notes from Cairo

In Cairo, the bakers invite you in to watch them bake aish baladi (عيش بلدي).

[Loud Etudes @loudetudes]

The other side of Bangkok: a quiet khlong (คลอง), one of the old canals the city still lives beside.

[knarik @knarikava]

i'm on a mission to fix sf's art scene, i swear