Archive for July 3rd, 2009

Tut at the de Young – Know Your Boy King: #2, Anubis the Protector

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

It’s Tut! It’s dazzling! As you know by now, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs has opened at the de Young Museum.

Now these days, you can’t travel without protection so what better Protector could you find than Anubis, the jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology.

And here he is, from far away, it’s 25 foot tall metal Anubis being installed up in Yelp-rated Pier 39:

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Now that’s better. Don’t lose your head, A-dog. 

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This whole installation was quite the circus with circling news choppers and the works. 

Now, you gots to install giant Anubis in pieces, and not do it the way they did in Hotlanta, GA. This chart posted inside of the hollow statue spells it all out:

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Is this jackal a naughty boy? Some seem to think so.

Here’s Tut’s actual Anubis, the main man who was at the ready for 3000 years in Egypt. There’s a lot to learn when you see the Tut show in Golden Gate Park. And, bonus,  it’s even open tomorrow, the Fourth of July, last entry at 2:00 PM.

And check out Cultural Encounters tonight at the de Young. See you there!

Tips on Enjoying Fog-Free Fourth of July Fireworks in San Francisco

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

When they tell you “Fog could shroud S.F. fireworks“ up in Fishermans Wharf at 9:30 PM on the Fourth of July 2009, what they really mean is Fog WILL shroud S.F. fireworks, barring some Act of God, or Gaia, or Whomever.

Sometimes the weather is good, sometimes not. This year, not.

Check it out from 2008. Click to expand:

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Eliya via Flickr

This is by no means the worst case scenario. So when they talk about special low-level fireworks and let’s cross our fingers, they’re spinning. And spinning is just the polite term for lying. So, what do you do? Head on over to the Mission District, where they’ll have oodles of Yelp-rated, illegal, illicit, MUY PRO HI BI DA DO (now I say that in Spanish because that’s how exotic and not allowed it is) fireworks, fog-free, for free. Just check out this screen saver album from 2007.

Of course, you can always go with the flow and follow the madding crowd northward into la niebla, le brouillard. And who knows, maybe it will be clear the way it was in 2007. Thusly:

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This is the view you had from Crissy Field on 7-4-2007 – those lights at the bottom have something to do with Fishermans Wharf.

But dude, don’t drive up there. Even if they didn’t block off the streets and you already had a parking space waiting for you, you’d still have to drive out of there in a traffic jam when the show’s over at 10:00 PM. Of course, you could always hang out at all the places that will be open up in the Wharf after the show, but maybe you’d be better off driving into the City with your bikes in tow and parking South of the 101 near the Giants’ AT&T Park. Then you could ride up the flat, flat Embarcadero (on the sidewalk – it’s legal) back and forth.

Can you dig the colors, man?

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But if that doesn’t pan out, you could follow the cable cars on Hyde (that’s the one north-south street they don’t block off, in my experience) and drop off the brood. Whatever you do, stay off of Van Ness. Or you could BART it to the Embarcadero Station and then hoof it up to Pier 39. But forget about MUNI, ’cause walking would be faster.  

And most likely it will be foggy anyway, you’ve been warned.

Dress warm. Panthers out.

Fourth of July Waterfront Celebration
Saturday, July 4, 2009
1:00 PM to 9:30 PM

“PIER 39 invites you to enjoy a fun-filled Independence Day celebration. Rock out with ‘Take 2′ from 1-4pm followed by San Francisco’s favorite 80’s cover band, ‘Tainted Love’ from 6-9:30pm. Immediately after the entertainment look to the sky as the City of San Francisco lights up the night with it’s Firework’s Spectacular, accompanied by a musical simulcast from KISS FM 98.1. PIER 39 has the best viewing area on the bay!  In addition, 39 of PIER 39’s businesses will remain open after the fireworks so that guests can miss the traffic, enjoy the PIER, have a drink, get a bite to eat, and shop.  Click here for the list of locations open after the fireworks.  Sponsored by Crystal Geyser ALPINE SPRING WATER, DeLoach Vineyards, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, The San Francisco Examiner, Tawain Tourism and Asus.”