Different people have different instincts when they come across something previously unknown. Some want to hoard it for themselves or a peer group, and use it for a future payoff. Others want to share. More after the jump…
Continue reading Interview With San Francisco’s Guerrilla Archivist, Rick Prelinger
The Long Now foundation has generously offered Spots Unknown readers two free tickets to Rick Prelinger’s upcoming presentation of previously-unseen archival footage of a lost San Francisco. It happens on Friday, December 4th at the Herbst Theatre. If you’re in town then, and want to go, read on…
Continue reading Ticket Giveaway: ‘Lost Landscapes of San Francisco’ Screening
First of all, I can’t tell which way most of those 1960s cars are traveling. One thing I do know: that bus and everyone on it are screwed. And wow, that sure is a lush and green post-Summer of Love San Francisco awaiting the hep cats that are fortunate to be headed the right direction.
(via Eric Fischer)
Continue reading Friday What The… Double Deck Golden Gate Bridge?
My curiosity was piqued by this Kottke post, so that a quick search turned up these awesome photos of happy inhabitants. More after the jump…
Continue reading San Francisco Opium Den Photos circa 1889
Delicious gooey blackness!
The fantastic footage (with ambient-only sound) and trivia, combined with an infusion of pride for San Francisco’s past and present, make this segment, called simply, “Cable Cars,” a great way to spend 5 minutes of computer time. Along the way, you’ll meet: Ken Lunardi, operator; Norm Feyling, mechanic; and Bob Harris, carpenter.
Produced by Greg Burk for SFGTV‘s award-wining magazine series “City In Focus.”
Related book: Historic Photos of San Francisco
From Amazon
From Powell’s
The latest single-serving site from the creator of BarackObamaIsYourNewBicycle.com:
At first I was a little ashamed that I’d never been in the forest on Mount Sutro, officially known as the Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve, even after living in the city for almost 14 years. But, after asking around, I discovered most of my long-time-resident friends haven’t been there either. So now it’s their turn to feel ashamed. (More after the jump.)
Continue reading Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve
Heard the jackhammers lately?
The city is forcing property owners to rip up and replace the busted sidewalk squares that front their buildings. But they don’t have to be replaced with the same old, boring slabs. The sidewalk in front of your residence could look more like these.
DPW’s Bureau of Urban Forestry issues low-cost permits allowing property owners to convert a portion of their sidewalk into an attractive landscaped area.
Even better, this recently came across the @SpotsUnknown Twitter feed:
FREE SIDEWALK LANDSCAPING DESIGN & INSTALLATION
In the Sunset District sidewalk gardens can not only make our streetscapes beautiful but also help recharge the aquifer and reduce sewer overflow contamination of the ocean.
Plant*SF and the San Francisco Parks Trust are offering the free installation of a demonstration sidewalk landscaping garden in the Sunset District using native and drought tolerant plants and permeable pavers. Corner properties are especially encouraged to apply.
To have a property be considered to receive free sidewalk landscaping, interested parties should email their contact information and property address to info@PlantSF.org by 5pm December 10, 2009. See PlantSF.org for examples of sidewalk gardens.
Funding for this project comes from the City of San Francisco Community Challenge Grant Program (CCG) with sponsorship from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
Outside of the Sunset District, there is a robust community of city eco-nerds who will help you design and install a sustainable sidewalk garden no matter where in the city you live. Start at the Plant*SF and Nature In The City websites.
KevMo over at MissionMission points us to this melancholy yet joyful edit of Dia de los Muertos footage scored with “Hellhole Ratrace” by Girls. He also laments the overwhelming whiteness of the celebration in recent years. I think the video/music mix itself captures that duality.
For extra weirdness, check out the video creator’s other clip.
My favorite bit from this scan of an original flyer in support of Proposition “A”: “All statements in this leaflet are accurate and factual.” That reassuring disclaimer apparently made this passage adequately persuasive:
Who endorsed Proposition “A”? Taxpayer’s groups… labor… doctors, lawyers, merchants, housewives, educators, Republicans, Democrats – everybody who wants a prosperous Bay Area. Opposition? Scattered, local, self-interested.
Indeeeed. The proposition required a district-wide 60% “yes” to pass; it got 61.2%, with the help of folks who cynically voted for it even though they wanted, and expected, it to fail. More after the jump…
Continue reading 1962: SAVE the BAY AREA from CHOKING to DEATH (with BART)!
New People‘s Superfrog gallery in Japantown will host an exhibit, “Tokyo Creators Market,” that includes cut out artist Mikito Ozeki. Check him out using his Exacto, free-hand, to make pieces out of vinyl records:
Continue reading Tokyo Pop Culture Exhibit Coming to Japantown
Great moves, great camera work. And, yes, even the shoes are rather hot. (This is a commercial.)
Is it true that pedestrians die in San Francisco at a 70% higher rate than the national average?
I saw this claim come across my Twitter feed today from Walk San Francisco, the local pedestrian advocacy organization, and it immediately got my attention. It didn’t smell quite right to me. More after the jump…
Continue reading Statistical Fibs Will Not Make Pedestrians Safer
Hey, clueless Twitter guy who works at the zoo, not only are you a big doofus, but that “third eyelid”? When the penguin winks it, that means he knows you stole the idea from him. Watch your back at feeding time. Payback’s a bitch.
Taken Sunday, November 8th. Make your guess in the comments.
UPDATE: Named by Sonia – Wicked Grounds.
Local writer and long-time resident Mat Honan has written an immensely quote-worthy piece about why he moved here and never left. Here’s a snip:
I hate this place. It stinks and it’s dirty and there’s piss everywhere and needles and garbage and yesterday when I went for a run in the park I had to traverse a trail that had been completely covered in used toilet paper. I’ve been robbed at gunpoint here, just down the street from my apartment. San Francisco is expensive, and I’ll never be able to afford to buy a home. The city government is corrupt, there’s nowhere to park, the people are all fucking crazy, and don’t even get me started about MUNI.
I’m never leaving, motherfuckers.
Read the whole thing here. Visit Mat’s website, and follow him on Twitter.
This map (courtesy, Prelinger Library) is a good way to visualize how much of the city burned after the earthquake/fire of 1906. It of course led to the building of refugee camps around the city, including in Mission (now “Dolores”) Park.
Here’s a blow-up of the cemetery locations:
Aerial video – San Francisco from Jason Lam on Vimeo.
With the ability to fly super close to the ground and surrounding objects, this really does provide a unique feel, like a free-floating crane or steady-cam. Pretty hot.
Jason Lam makes these videos for a company called SkyShutter, using “a camera equipped with ‘gyro-stabilized remote-controlled gimbals,’ along with a live streaming video connection.”
I just wish they’d put a camera on this guy’s helicopter!
That’s right, the original plans recommended “first stage” service past Palo Alto to the south, and across the Bay to San Rafael to the north! I wonder how many stages ago that was?
Maybe they should have drafted up some counterfeit money with which to pay for this pipe dream. (Even a tiny fraction of this fantastical scheme is itself worth much higher fares year after year, it seems.)
(via)
