The San Francisco Citizen

The Victory Garden at San Francisco’s Civic Center has a new lease on life due to today’s mayoral reprieve:

“Today Mayor Gavin Newsom announced his intention to keep the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden at Civic Center Plaza in place until November. The garden was originally scheduled to be disassembled and moved to a more permanent location on September 21, three weeks after the conclusion of Slow Food Nation.”

Now the whole idea of this garden smacked of Marie Antoinette’s L’Hameau de la Reine from the get-go and the fact it was supposed to be undone in September was met with some criticism, but having this thing around for another three months seems like a good idea.

Of course SFN was well-attended, with lots of coverage from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, SFGate and Eater SF.

Now on with the show.

This voter registerer got cuffed by a Park Ranger right next to the Civic Center Windmill. Some rich hippies took offense and questioned the necessity of this detention. Apparently, the very same man was asked to leave SFN just the day before.

People, people, people, have you no respect for the DPT? Just one Parking Control Officer had the opportunity to issue scores of tickets to those in too much of a hurry to get to Slow Food Nation. It’s as easy as (slow) pie to park for free all day in this area.

See you next year!

Today’s Sunday Streets was just like Critical Mass, but with more hula hoops and less vitriol. It’s already being called a “sunny success.”

Here’s how it looked towards the ballpark on the Embarcadero. On a normal Sunday, this area would be filled with cars:

The Presidio Trust brought an ersatz hiking trail to the Ferry Building area:

All aboard the double dutch bus:

The whole thing was a Thriller:

And what better way to end the morning but running the bases as if you were a Giants ballplayer. The line was long for this activity:

See you out there in two weeks on September 14th!

Activities are ongoing from 9 AM – 1 PM and occurring on both dates unless otherwise indicated. Each location will have information tables, water, first aid supplies, and restrooms. # denotes activities appropriate for young children.

Chinatown: Portsmouth Square
sponsored by Self-Help for the Elderly

Alleyway Tours (9/14) 10:30-11:30; 12-1
Chinese cultural crafts
Cultural performances 9:30-12:30
DJ and Breakdancing 11-1
# Moon Bounce jumpy house

Info and Resource Tables:
Bone marrow registry (8/31)
organ donation information (9/14)
Smoking cessation
Chinatown economic action plan

Portsmouth Plaza Parking Corporation will offer free & secure bike parking; $5 all day parking for cars with three or more people who arrive between 7-10am

Ferry Park
sponsored by Sports Basement and YogaForce

Adult Yoga 9:15 -10:30; 10:30-11:45;
11-12:15
# PoeTREE Playshop 11:30
Peace Walks 9:30
# Yoga for Kids 10:30-11:15

The Outside Lands music festival, not to be confused with the Western Neighborhoods Project, opened yesterday in Golden Gate Park with a large attendance.

Look for the live webcast today and tomorrow. Check out the photo gallery.

It’s Beck! See videos of his set here.

from Jenn L’s photostream

Now, it’s Radiohead! See videos of their set here.

from Jenn L’s photostream

The reviews are already in at 58 Hours, a Radiohead Gig Database:

“Great Show. Idioteque, Talk Show Host, Android, Gloaming and Plastic Trees were amazing. The light show really was stunning. A few drawbacks (to be honest), the sound (I mean, the entire sound) went completely out twice. Also, festival crowd was very chatty….killed the atmosphere on quieter songs like Exit Music. However, Plastic Trees was so show-stopping-breathtaking that the place really seemed to go silent.”

Grab your $85 and see you there! (And be sure to head over to the Foggy Bridge Canteen for some hyper local wine.)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 @ 5PM

RADIOHEAD
BECK
MANU CHAO
THE BLACK KEYS
COLD WAR KIDS
STEEL PULSE
LYRICS BORN
BLACK MOUNTAIN
BENEVENTO/RUSSO DUO
THE FELICE BROTHERS
HOWLIN RAIN
THE DYNAMITES FEATURING CHARLES WALKER
CARNEY

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 @ 1PM

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS
PRIMUS
CAKE
STEVE WINWOOD
CAFÉ TACVBA
LUPE FIASCO
REGINA SPEKTOR
GALACTIC’S CRESCENT CITY SOUL KREWE
M. WARD
DEVENDRA BANHART
MATT NATHANSON
TWO GALLANTS
DREDG
ABIGAIL WASHBURN & THE SPARROW
QUARTET FEATURING BÉLA FLECK
THE WALKMEN
KAKI KING
THE COUP
LIARS
DONAVON FRANKENREITER
NELLIE MCKAY
GOAPELE
SEAN HAYES
RUPA & THE APRIL FISHES
THRIVING IVORY
EVEREST

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24 @ 1PM

JACK JOHNSON
WILCO
WIDESPREAD PANIC
RODRIGO Y GABRIELA
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
ANDREW BIRD
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS
STARS
ROGUE WAVE
ALO
JACKIE GREENE
LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES
MIKE GORDON
THE COOL KIDS
GRACE POTTER & THE NOCTURNALS
LITTLE BROTHER
BON IVER
VIENNA TENG
THE MOTHER HIPS
THE MIGHTY UNDERDOGS FEATURING GIFT OF GAB, LATEEF AND HEADNODIC
NICOLE ATKINS & THE SEA
SILA & THE AFROFUNK EXPERIENCE
K’NAAN
CULVER CITY DUB COLLECTIVE

Consider poor Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic, and executive food and wine editor. In his words:

“I had a brief panic attack as I stood at a colleague’s desk and leafed through the September issue of Food & Wine magazine.”

MB was so horror-struck, he forgot to link to the source of his consternation. But you can take a look here: ”Chefs Charles Phan and Loretta Keller: Recipes for Sustainability,” where magazine scribe Joshua Davis writes:

“The Academy Café, on the main floor, feels like an interactive exhibit showcasing cuisines from the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and Mexico.”

Actually, the Academy Cafe (press release here) feels like a construction site.  Here’s what it looks like over there right now, take a gander. Click to expand:

So let’s see here, Food & Wine says everything opens in September:

“The California Academy of Sciences, including the Moss Room and Academy Café, opens September 27. calacademy.org.”

And Bauer says everything opens in October:

 ”The museum and the restaurant aren’t scheduled to open until October.”

In reality, the museum opens in September and the dining places are skedded to open in October. Now we’re all set.

[UPDATE: As it turned out, both the Moss Room and the Academy Cafe opened on September 27th, so ten points for Gryffindor.]

Thus ends another dead-tree/Internet flare up.  Expect another one soon.

San Francisco Unified School District Commissioner Eric Mar soundly won the sole endorsement of the San Francisco Democratic Party to replace Supervisor Jake McGoldrick this week, and now it’s his birthday. So he had a party at the Toy Boat Dessert Café on Clement in the Richmond District today.   

Alicia Wang and Sue Lee are the other major candidates in the race

This is Eric’s platform and this is his schedule for the week:

5:30 PM: Monday Night Phonebanking

7PM: The Peaceniks Benefit Concert for Eric Mar

5:30 PM: Wednesday Night Phonebanking

10AM: Coffee with Eric 3:30 PM: Meeting of the Select Committee of the Board of Supervisors and Board of Education

6PM: Young Voters for Eric

6PM: San Francisco Board of Education Meeting

5PM: “I ACCEPT” OBAMA SPEECH WATCHING PARTY

It’s the Marin County Civic Center as designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Check it:

Portions of the science fiction films THX 1138 (1969) and Gattaca (1997) were shot on location in the Marin Center. In addition, the buildings (especially those in the fairgrounds) served as a direct inspiration to those of the planet Naboo in the Star Wars films.

This building is perhaps best known these days as the location of one of the offices of Senator Carole Migden. Here’s what it looks like from above.

As seen from the the 101 freeway from the north. Click to expand.

“The long horizontal buildings gracefully link the crowns of three separate hills. The circular theme is evident throughout the complex. Materials throughout the Civic Center are simple. Floors are custom-colored composition tile. Walkways and stairs are terrazzo, and partitions are sheet rock. The barrel-arched roof is of pre-cast concrete. The roof is a blue that blends with the sky. Walls are sand beige. Basic construction is pre-cast, pre-stressed floor systems with combined steel and concrete vertical supports. Exterior balconies run down the outsides of both buildings. The decorative arches create a sense of rhythm, and are made of cement stucco on metal laths.

“Gold spheres outline the entire interior and exterior rooflines. They create the effect of rhythmic unity and exemplify the Oriental influence Wright displayed in his work. They have been likened to raindrops and called, by some, a string of pearls.

WordCamp 2008 is going right now in San Francisco with 420 enthusiastic attendees.

Here’s what it looks like. Click to expand:

There might have been a time when a man with a shillelagh could lay claim to property in Golden Gate Park, but those days are over.

If you’re a fifth generation San Franciscan, a loaded stick might have played a role in your family getting some propertah. This guy, agitated after threatening San Francisco Park officials, was born about 150 years too late.

This weekend, you need to get on over to Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park to check things out. Bonus: the Obama people will be the scene.

“On August 16 and 17, 2008, Speedway Meadow will be transformed to a delightful Elizabethan town filled with myriad characters and vignettes resembling those of Shakespeare’s plays we so dearly love. In addition, over 900 costumed entertainers and over 100 shopkeepers and artisans will add to the ambience of the Faire.

“This year’s theme for the Golden Gate Renaissance Faire is Shakespeare’s Muse. It’s the ultimate Renaissance bash, a lively Dionysian party, where the guests enjoy turkey legs, exotic food, and drink as they banter with the myriad performers filling the streets.

You are so there. Here’s a small discount coupon. And take a look here at years past. What it looked like last year:

Jousting is the highlight of the schedule. Click to expand:

A gay wedding from the time 500 years before Proposition 8:

Here come the horses:

Target practice.

Hyper local produce from the Cabrillo Safeway getting sliced and diced:

The victor:

See you there! 

Daily Events & Stage Schedules 

These and many more acts will be performing throughout both days.
    Parades & Street Scenes:
    Opening Parade    10:00
    Mayor’s/Merchants Parade    11:00
    The Danse Macabre    11:30
    The Queen’s Arrival/Progress    Noon
    The Danse Macabre    3:30
    Closing Parade    6:00 (Sat)/5:00 (Sun)

    Crafts, Demonstrations, & Activities:
    The Scavenger Hunt 12:00 & 3:00
    Shyre Woods Woodworking
    Clan Iain Abrach Spinning, Cooking
    Any many more occuring all around the faire throughout the day
    Tournaments & Competitions:
    St. Michaels/DEMAS    Rapier Tournament (Saturday)
    Longsword Tournament (Sunday)
    Clain Iain Abrach    Iron Skillet Competition (period cooking)
    The Tournament Arena:
11:15    Military Demo   
12:45    The Knights of Avalon   
3:30    The Knights of Avalon
4:30    Battle Pagaent
    Queen’s Stage    Village Stage    Gypsey’s Stage
10:30    Trey Cromwell: Danger Circus    Tobias the Adequate    Fowl Tales
11:15    Myth & Magic    Bella Donna Courtesans    Ottoman Traders 
Noon    Out of Kontrol    Belle Voci    Merrie Praynksters
12:45    Trey Cromwell: Danger Circus     Tobias the Adequate    Siamsa le Cheile
1:30    Myth & Magic    Bella Donna Courtesans    Fowl Tales
2:15    Out of Kontrol    Bella Voci     Merrie Praynksters
3:00    Trey Cromwell: Danger Circus     Tobias the Adequate    Ottoman Traders
3:45    Michael’s Songs & Tales     Bella Donna Courtesans    Siamsa le Cheile
4:30    Myth & Magic    Bella Voci    Fowl Tales
5:15    Out of Kontrol    Michael’s Songs & Tales

The California State Auditor has a new report about the prices of college textbooks. Unless you are a publisher, this report won’t come as good news. Check it:

“Over the past several years, the State has enacted two state laws to encourage faculty and campuses to mitigate the impact of textbook costs on students.

Assembly Bill 2477 (AB 2477) signed by the governor and effective January 1, 2005, requires CSU trustees and the board of governors of the community colleges, and encourages UC regents, to work with their respective academic senates to encourage faculty to consider the least costly practices in assigning textbooks.”

“Signed by the governor and effective January 1, 2008, Assembly Bill 1548 (AB 1548) also encourages faculty to consider cost in the adoption of textbooks.”

So, read up on Education Code Section 66406 and kissing cousin Education Code Section 66406.7 (the College Textbook Transparency Act). See all that stuff these laws require? Most parties concerned are ignoring these laws.

So hey, why not ask all your new professors at your UC, CSU or community college to see how they complied with these California textbook laws.

Shouldn’t your profs comply with CA law? Shouldn’t your profs be aware of CA law? Mmmmm….