On Thursday, I attended the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association's 60th birthday bash. I'm a new member, and so I'm just beginning to learn about this little gem, and the maritime history of SF.

The park includes that bad-ass ship you see at Hyde Street Pier (in the photo at the bottom of this post), a submarine you can go into, and a museum in the art deco building at Aquatic Park with jaw-dropping ship models and other miniaturizations.

The inside and outside of the Aquatic Park Bathhouse Building are covered with awesome WPA-era murals and mosaics.

Learn all about the association and the park here.

Beware: Polar Bears often swim in adjacent Aquatic Park, so if you're sensitive to seeing half-naked old guys who like to maximize "shrinkage," look away - ooh, what a pretty ship!

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This now-extinct amusement park at Ocean Beach was established in the 1880s and dismantled in 1972. It has a rich, weird history. Rick Prelinger unveiled some great amateur footage in his latest Lost Landscapes screening in December.

On March 16th, the Balboa Theater will premier a full-length documentary about the park by Tom Wyrsch.

Gone now for more than 3 decades, it remains one of the city’s lost treasures. Go back in time to see Laffing Sal, the Fun House, the Carousel, the Big Dipper, the Diving Bell, Dark Mystery, Limbo, Fun-tier Town, and much, much more, all through the eyes of the people that were there. The first and only documentary ever made about Playland.

(Spotted @SF_Explorers)

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The director of Cop Out made a speech or something at Macworld here in San Francisco. I'm no fashionist, but by what natural law is Smith permitted to appear on stage making Heshy Fried look like Johnny Weir?

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UPDATE 2/14/2010: This post is a joke.

We loves us a good pillow fight as much as the next guy, but this press release just sent out by the Department of Public Health suggests they aren't as "soft and fluffy" as they seem. It includes the above nasty photo and cliams:

Hospital records show that 17 individuals with a range of injuries were admitted to the emergency room after last year’s pillow fight in Justin Herman Plaza.

“Folks should be aware of the danger of corneal abrasion, penetrating injuries, and even orbital fractures,” according to [Director of Health Mitchell H. Katz, MD].

While feathers are soft and pillows as a whole don’t tend to injure, a quick scrape of the edge of some fabric can cause serious harm, said Katz. Not to mention the occasional wild swing that results in the collision of a person’s clenched fist with a sensitive region like the eye. We recommend refraining from such public displays of violence, even if they are out of an innocent desire to have fun.

Be safe out there, kids.

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Everyone knows White Pimp is the new Black, and it's ALL GOOD, y'all. Word up.

But seriously, this jive turkey is scheduled to speak at the Commonwealth Club and teach badass mofo media poseurs how to stick it to the man.

However. Since the brotha's out on bail and might be, shall we say, indisposed at the time of the talk, there might be someone else speaking that night.

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Erik Wilson, known as Generik11 on Flickr

Igor Uriarte, known as 20R3Mun on Flickr

They each get a ticket to Rick Prelinger's Lost Landscapes of San Francisco.

Thanks to everyone who submitted images and helped to get our Flickr pool started with a bang.

If you haven't bought your ticket to the screening yet, hurry up, because they're going fast.

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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:

Sometimes he then spins them and plops a needle down:

Show opens Saturday, November 21st.

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