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Reinvention through localization and cartography

When I received my letter of acceptance into the Cinema Studies Masters Program at San Francisco State University, I had yet to step foot on California soil.

With this encouraging news, my friends and colleagues gave me a pair of books: one, an elegant brown leather-bound journal, and the other, a discreet, black ‘Not For Tourists Guide’ to San Francisco. The ‘Not For Tourists’ guide is relatively self-explanatory. It’s a collection of maps, landmarks, restaurants and bars that are off the beaten path.

Image Courtesy of PetaPixel

The discreet, pocket-sized book became a way of bypassing all the traditional ‘best-of’ recommendations that ultimately come with a move to such a well-traveled city. This guide is a valuable resource, especially when you find yourself seemingly stranded in one of a handful of the city’s culturally vibrant districts.

At the back, there is a series of blank, lined pages for notes, but the journal provided a more appropriate and expressive writing space.

Image courtesy of theartofsimple.net

The journal is elegantly bound and features an illustration of a single-seat monoplane hovering over San…