In other shocking news, Mark McGwire took steroids.
It is comforting to know SF’s finest are keeping the streets safe for those just trying to catch a few Zs with the pigeons.
Category: I Love SF
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…
Continue reading Love It or Leave It, SF Weekly
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…
Continue reading UCSF Saving the Lives of Pregnant Women in Developing Countries
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.
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.
Ticket Giveaway Winning Images
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.
Interview With San Francisco’s Guerrilla Archivist, Rick Prelinger
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
Ticket Giveaway: ‘Lost Landscapes of San Francisco’ Screening
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
We Do Love Our Mayor
The latest single-serving site from the creator of BarackObamaIsYourNewBicycle.com:
Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve
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
PlantSF Offering Free Eco-Friendly Sidewalk Landscaping
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.
Pro Skater Omar Salazar Abuses SF Hills
Great moves, great camera work. And, yes, even the shoes are rather hot. (This is a commercial.)
Statistical Fibs Will Not Make Pedestrians Safer
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
I Hate It, I Love It, I’m Never Leaving
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.
Rick Prelinger’s Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 4
“Guerrilla archivist” Rick Prelinger is once again joining forces with the Long Now Foundation for the 4th in his series of screenings titled, “Lost Landscapes of San Francisco.” More after the jump…
Continue reading Rick Prelinger’s Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 4