The San Francisco Citizen

Details are a little sketchy, but the San Francisco Bomb Squad has just picked up a “package” and is taking it on a slow tour through Golden Gate Park. [UPDATE: The whole affair ended "peacefully" per KGO-TV]

Why the scenic route? So if it goes kaboom, it won’t hurt you all.

This was the scene at 6:30 PM, near the de Young Museum. Click to expand:

The starting location on Carl between Frederick and Williard:

Sarge in the front, mortar in the back:

The sticker on the red metal bucket says: “I HEART EXPLOSIVES.” (Don’t we all.) From a couple hundred feet away:

A bald eagle, sticks of dynamite and the Golden Gate Bridge:

Keep up the good work, San Francisco Bomb Squad!

To begin, John King is the San Francisco Chronicle’s Urban Design Writer. And an equine dentist is one who looks a gift horse in the mouth. And CAMP is the proposed Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio. Now you’re up to speed!

Here’s the deal. Check out John King’s Fisher’s Awkward Location for Presidio Museum article and this graphic to see where he’d prefer our new museum to be.

If you like huge parking lots and “historic” freeway on-ramps, then you’ll want to delay any changes at the main post of the Presidio for as long as possible.  

Now here’s the case for keeping the proposal where it is. By the numbers:

1. Framing. CAMP would help to “frame” the newly-green main parade ground, which is now a huge parking lot of course. That’s the basic version, but internationally-famous architect Richard Gluckman would probably be able to expand on that. He should be more than capable of doing so, as his name is literally synonymous with from Bauhaus to our house minimalism. See and hear for yourself on July 10 in San Francisco, if you can pony up the dough.   

2. The view from inside of CAMP. Check out this graphic - it’s a glass wall that would let visitors look to the north. JK’s idea would be to keep the proposed location of CAMP empty in order to let future generations to decide what’s best. But the glass wall and other features of the building certainly suggest it was designed for this particular site.

3. The proximity to Building 101. You can see 101 here - it’s the middle building on the right. There’s your administrative offices for the museum and also the place for workshops and programs. It would be nice to be able to have the main museum building reserved mostly for display space leaving Building 101 for other things. And of course, it would be nice to have these two locations close to each other.

So there you have it.

Would John King prefer chucking the whole idea of CAMP if it can’t be placed at his preferred location?

That, unfortunately, remains left unsaid. 

Or, How the Examiner Embarrasses Itself With Japanese Water Car Story.

Now, over at the Denver Green Living Examiner, writer “Linnae Selinga-Puyear” has this bit called “How Dasani, Fuji and Evian will replace Exxon, BP and Shell.” (Of course she probably means Fiji Water and not Fuji, but let’s not dwell on that as it’s probably equally stupid to get your drinking water either from the slopes of Mount Fuji or from the South Pacific.)

As stated before, you can use water to make a car go down the road, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s powered by water. If the Genepax company in Osaka, Japan were claiming something along the lines of cold fusion, then there’d be a chance they might actually have something.

Is this a real Japanese Water Car?

It must be tough to come up with “something green” on a regular basis for today’s demanding readers. Even if you’re sort of joking around, you’ve got to try harder to show you don’t believe in fairy tales. Especially automotive-related fairy tales in the age of $5 per gallon gasoline.

Don’t you think?  

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Look ma, the optional tummy paddle let’s me drive around hands-free! Photo of “Anti-Terror Assault Vehicles” via knife tricks

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

Reports of the rise in China’s cheerleading prowess have been circulating for a while, but now it’s official - Western-style cheerleading is coming to the Beijing Olympics. No, not as a medal sport itself, despite the efforts of Beijing’s hardworking ”Olympic Sport Demonstration Cheerleading Volunteer Performance Demonstration Team.” But just as leaders of cheers, continuing the recent trend.

For example, check out this scene from 2004, when cheerleaders in Salt Lake City had a decidedly non-NCAA, “pro” look. (Oops, too many of you clicked over and wore out that link, try this instead) And in 2006, spectators in Turin, Italy saw moonbooted cheerleaders who looked like this.

Now, last year, people thought the 2008 Olympic cheerleaders would appear like this, or like these athletes in Beijing from a recent photo:

From Micah Sittig’s Flickrstream 

However, it now appears that BOCOG has selected uniforms like this for the 585 cheerleaders. That’s right, they’re in blue jeans. But hey, do you notice somebody in the background, behind the “lion-like character” Dongdong?

Isn’t that Jin Jing, everybody’s favorite torchbearing “angel in a wheelchair”? The very same Jin Jing who followed orders from the Sacred Flame Protection Squad to not give away her torch to anybody, and the very same sentinent adult who claims she never heard of the Tibet independence movement until participating in the torch relay? Signs point to yes.

And hey, speaking of torchbearers in wheelchairs, what about this guy, Andrew Michael, from this bit: Chinese Paramilitary Police Operating on the Streets of San Francisco. Shouldn’t he be famous too?

His actions on the streets of San Francisco are something to think about when you’re rah-rahing next month.

Just saying.