SF State News {University Communications}

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Gator greatness in a gift

December 8, 2009 -- This holiday season, choose a gift with a Gator connection. Bookworms, foodies, shutterbugs and Beethoven buffs are among those who would delight in one or more of the following gift suggestions that have been made possible by SF State faculty and alumni.


Top notch entertainment
Treat friends and family to an acclaimed film produced by alum Jonas Rivera (B.A., ‘96, cinema). Disney Pixar’s summer hit "Up," is now available on DVD.


Musical magic Photo of Alexander String Quartet
SF State’s resident Alexander String Quartet (pictured) has released a nine-disc CD set. "Beethoven: Complete String Quartets" includes recordings made over the past 15 years (2009, Foghorn Classics).
Give a holiday favorite, the CD soundtrack to the classic TV special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which features the original smooth jazz compositions by alum Vince Guaraldi (attended ‘48-‘49).

 

Good reads
Enjoy one of Shakespeare's most obscure sonnets in Morse code, as a lounge singer's lament or in 54 other forms in award-winning poet and Creative Writing Professor Paul Hoover's entertaining "Sonnet 56" (2009, Les Figues Press Poetry).
Getting rave reviews in The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times is "A Bomb in Every Issue: How the Short, Unruly Life of Ramparts Magazine Changed America," Humanities Lecturer Peter Richardson's account of the radical and short-lived 1960s publication, (2009, The New Press). Photo of Sky Train cover
Discover acclaimed poet Kim Addonizio's (M.A., '86, creative writing) new collection of poetry, "Lucifer at the Starlite," (2009, Norton) and some of the secrets of her success in "Ordinary Genius, A Guide for the Poet Within." (2009, Norton).
Canyon Sam (M.F.A., '98, creative writing) traveled the world's highest and most controversial railway route to visit with extraordinary women in Tibet. Heralded by Alice Walker, Maxine Kingston and others, "Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History" is a 50-year oral history of the country with a forward by the Dalai Lama.

 

 

 

Excellent eats
Beach and Park Chalet restaurant owners Lara and Gar Truppelli (M.A., ‘93, psychology, M.B.A., ‘94 respectively) have created another top spot for dining. The Lake Chalet Seafood Bar and Grill, located in the 100-year-old boathouse on Lake Merritt in Oakland, is receiving rave reviews for its menu and romantic location overlooking the lake and authentic Italian gondola rides.
Aziza restaurant chef and owner, Mourad Lahlou (B.A., ‘93, economics) has racked up another prestigious nod for his Moroccan cuisine.  Aziza is only one of 40 restaurants to receive a one-star rating or better in the latest edition of The Michelin Guide.
According to the foodies at KGO/ABC TV's “View from the Bay,” alum Chad Newton (attended ‘03, business), Chef at Fish & Farm Restaurant in Union Square, makes the "Best Burger in SF."

 

Better photography
End the nightmare of indoor photography and free shutterbugs from external flash fixtures and expensive lighting equipment with the Lightscoop.  Invented by Professor of Photojournalism and award-winning photographer Ken Kobre, the small, lightweight device facilitates soft light over subjects to even out skin tones and banish red-eye.

 

Charitable giving
Consider a gift to the San Francisco Food Bank in a loved one's name and make the holidays memorable for those who are less fortunate. Executive Director Paul Ash (M.S., '84, Business Administration) is an Alumni Hall of Famer for his dedication to ending hunger in San Francisco.

 

Purchasing power
Photo of bookstore gift cardSF State students, faculty and staff can find what they need just a few steps away from their classroom or office at the campus bookstore. One of the store's colorful gift cards can make anything -- iPods to paper clips, flip flops to ancient wisdom -- possible.

 

 

Alumni membership

Give the SF State alum a key to the campus in the form of an Alumni Association membership. They will enjoy a multitude of benefits including Library and Career Center access, discounted medical benefits and interesting events at which to reminisce and reconnect with fellow Gators.

 

For Gator gift suggestions from previous years, see Holiday Gifts 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005.

-- Denize Springer

 

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