Valencia Sidewalks Close to Being Not Incomplete
Even with the cones (mostly) gone, we are reminded of the temporary nature of existence. Those asphalt-filled areas will no doubt have to be properly cemented at some point in the future, requiring more cones, but in the meantime, here's a rough vision of how your world may be one day, Mission-heads.
(Thanks, Gwen!)
The Three Hos
From the misspellings to the vintage sexism, this flier has it all.
Inside, on the night before Christmas Eve Eve, the 500 Club is feeling toasty and festive.
George Lucas Procrastinates, Too
I had a long-time employee of his confirm afterward that this is him, in line in front of me today at Borders at the Westfield mall. He's got some courage coming out in public right now with this thing going 'round the sphere:
Ed Hardy Went to the SF Art Institute?
Ouch.
The SF Examiner pinned him down recently and asked him about his art:
If it makes you think — takes you outside yourself and opens yourself to the mystery of life — that’s great.
And if it single-handedly empowers jagoffs all around the world to all-new heights of spike-haired scrotitude? That's great, too, I guess!
Maybe I should have gone easier on the SF Weekly's current cover story. Any city worth its salt would have been able to prevent such a gigantic train wreck of pop culture.
The Selby Shot Tower
I found these images after reading a page on the Anchor Steam Brewery website. A shot tower is for making spherical gunshot. The Selby Shot Tower shown above and below was located at Howard and 1st Street, circa 1870. More after the jump...
Love It or Leave It, SF Weekly
The carpetbaggers over at Village Voice Media, aka, the SF Weekly, have launched an anti-SF hit piece that completely misses the point of San Francisco and why people choose to live here.
Now, like my old buddy, Mat, I hate things about SF - including much of what is covered in this piece. That makes my headline pretty much meaningless - at least I admit that, which is more than the Weekly would do about the one atop the article we're discussing here. More after the jump...
A Monster Awakens?
The SF Public Utilities Commission just tweeted that another water main has broken, this time near Crescent Ave. and Banks Street.
This on the heels of a sinkhole South of Market, which was just repaired yesterday but which caused brown water to flow from the taps of nearby residents.
I'm not gonna go on too much here, but just allow me a friendly reminder...
UCSF Saving the Lives of Pregnant Women in Developing Countries
A friend just left San Francisco for her second "tour of duty" in Zambia, working for UCSF’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, which develops a low-tech first-aid device for hemorrhaging pregnant women called LifeWraps. I was impressed and horrified by her efforts combating the high frequency of death and disability around childbirth. More after the jump...
If the Trailer’s a-Rocking
I don't expect much of a Monday night.
But a friend was having a get together at Gestalt before returning to do the Lord's work in Africa, so I dragged my butt out. It was a crazy night. The high point was when we followed some bumping music to the above Airstream camper parked in front of DoubleDutch.
When security from DD tried to tell the silver-trailer-dweller to turn his music down, the response was not positive. "You don't come into my house and tell me how to live!" was part of the tirade.
The bouncer backed down.
Native San Francisco Shrub – Not Dead Yet!
The Franciscan Manzanita, a shrub thought to have been made extinct when its habitat in the SF cemeteries of old was eradicated, has been discovered growing wild near the Golden Gate Bridge. More after the jump...
Views of the Rain
I'm usually not a fan of paintings that take their compositions from photographs in an obvious way, but these impressionistic rainy San Francisco scenes by local artist Jeremy Mann just feel right this weekend.
National Anti-Prohibition Group Likes San Francisco (but not LA)
You'd think that Los Angeles' 800-1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries would be considered some sort of success to pro-legalization advocates in Washington, D.C. According to an article in today's Chron by C.W. Nevius, you would be wrong:
"If you wanted to write a textbook on how to screw up medical marijuana," said Bruce Mirken, the San Francisco-based communications director for the national Marijuana Policy Project, "the first thing you should do is hire the Los Angeles City Council."
Mirken's low opinion of the state of medical cannabis in California's most populous city isn't a case of pious provincialism, it's the worst-kept secret in the entire pro-pot movement. More after the jump...
Tree Angel
Reader Anna Spektor found this by accident at a private residence at Shrader and Belgrave. She says:
the house name is "Ursa Minor Dacha", which is pretty cool in itself, but they also have this sculpture carved out of a dead tree.
Thanks, Anna!
Thanks, Ma
"Organic vegan Mexican" is such a redundancy. Seriously, though, it's blowing my mind, despite this totally eloquent explanation:
Gracias Madre is truly an expression of who we are – it represents our deep love of and reverence for food, our commitment to health and sustainability, our unconditional love for our multicultural family and community, our devotion to the Earth and the divine feminine, and our commitment to raising consciousness on the planet.
Blah blah blah, you love food - bring on the three sisters!
Valencia Street Sinkhole
We've seen the aftermath before, but this before/after is impressive, no? More after the jump...
Words in Stone
Carl Nolte offers a reminder about the original inhabitants of a re-activated Mission Bay:
"There are thousands of us," said Andrew Galvan, who is a descendant of a Bay Miwok man named Liberato and an Ohlone woman called Obulinda who were married in Mission Dolores in 1802. Galvan is the curator of Mission Dolores and is not extinct.
26 Nixed
It's bad enough that the elimination of the 26-Valencia will wreak havoc on my personal life. But it turns out that the line I often stumble upon to get home has been running since 18-fucking-92 (shown above in its 1943 variation).
Back then, it was a trolley that ran from Steuart St. near the Ferry Building all the way down to the cemeteries in Colma. Shit, if that still ran, I could take it to Target!
The final insult is that, apparently, electric streetcars themselves were largely built in San Francisco as a way to develop the Sunnyside area - my homeland - for its real estate. And this is how I'm repaid - with forced late-night pedestrianism and wallet-thinning cab rides.
‘For Saving Life’ – Streetcar Fender Design from 1895
With the forthcoming death of several MUNI lines, I suppose transit is on the brain. More after the jump...
Blackie the Wonder Horse Swims the San Francisco Bay
Why on God's green earth did anyone dream up this 1938 stunt? To quote the narrator, "Your guess is as good as mine."
This poor horse chased a handful of sugar and towed a fat, useless human named "Shorty Roberts," as it swam the Golden Gate just to settle a bet about whether horses can swim:
The swim took 23 minutes and 15 seconds---an hour less than it had taken an Olympic swimmer. When Blackie and Shorty arrived in SF, the SPCA was waiting, but admitted that Shorty looked much worse than the horse and didn't cite him. Shorty always insisted that the horse loved swimming in the bay.
Sure he did, and why not?
(Spotted@)
Recommended book: Historic Photos of San Francisco
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