A recent spate of fake five-star reviews has elevated our International Art Museum of America all the way up to a three star Yelp rating, so hooray for that, I guess.
And check out the crest they’re using – that’s the same one that was on the green blazers of the security guards as they ejected me from the joint on Opening Day a bit more than a year ago. Good times:
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I’ll tell you, I don’t know why former Mayor Gavin Newsom trying to cut a sweetheart deal with Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison in exchange for being made Honorable, Grand Exalted Ambassador at Large for the America’s Cup 2013 isn’t considered a form of bribery, but there you go.
Anyway, the upshot is that Sting will have a place to perform his greatest hits in the 415 on June 2nd, 2013. Ticks go on sale February 22nd. Deets below.
Uh, how many motor yachts are going to putt-putt across the Atlantic and through the Panama canal to see a staged race of overly-large catamarans and how much money will the Eurotrash spend in town while they’re here? Not as many/much as “projected,” that’s for sure. Presenting your wasteful (and yet somehow “sustainable”) America’s Cup 34:
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All the deets, after the jump.
Sting: Back To Bass Tour Extends Through 2013
NEW NORTH AMERICAN & EUROPEAN DATES ANNOUNCED
Performing His Most Celebrated Hits, Stripped Down With A 5-Piece Band
I think this deal from Google Offers San Francisco expires tomorrow, so act soon.
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Canon 85mm 1.2 Mark I, totally wide open
See you there at the Conservatory of Flowers!
Well the Grand Opening Celebration for our so-called International Art Museum of America is coming Saturday, October 15th, 2011 at 1023 / 1025 Market Street betwixt 6th and 7th in the gritty Twitterloin / Mid-Market area.
Get the deets about this place here and on the Yelp.
But here’s the news, this joint’s going to be free for all of October 2011:
“The IAMA Board of Directors is offering free admission to the public from October 15-31, 2011. Stop by to see our newly opened museum shop (located at 1023 Market Street) and new additions to our exhibit.
HOURS: The museum is open to the public, Tuesday – Sunday, 11 am-5 pm. Starting October 15, 2011.”
You can’t beat that, right?
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Oh and here’s the new website.
And here are the deets of Opening Day – they have an entertainment schedule and everything:
The day will begin with a celebratory dance by Leung White Crane Dragon and Lion Dance Association, followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony, welcome speeches and entertainment. Tickets for the general public from 11- 3 pm will be available at the new museum shop (located at 1023 Market Street). Prices are $10.00 adults/ $8.00 for seniors/students/military with I.D. $5.00 Children 5-17 years; children under 5 yrs. free. The museum will also offer free admission for the general public on October 15 from 3-5 pm only, in conjunction with the “24 Days of Central Market Arts Festival.” Members and their guests will be admitted free of charge all day long.
IAMA’s mission is to display the most beautiful and precious art from all over the world to promote the moral progress, spiritual health, and cultural and artistic development of humanity around the globe.
HOURS/TIMES OF OPERATION: The museum will be open to the public, Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm. beginning October 18, 2011.LOCATION: Public access is available at our museum entrance located at 1025 Market Street. The museum shop is located at 1023 Market Street, adjacent to the museum building. Parking is available at inexpensive parking lots on Mission Street between 6th St. and 7th St. around the corner, or take Muni to Market and Sixth St. or BART to Powell Street station and walk one block west. TICKETS: Admission is $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for seniors/students/military with I.D. $5.00 Children 5-17 years; children under 5 yrs. Free. Group tour rates are available. We offer membership with the benefit of free admission.
Why don’t you check it out and then post your opinion online someplace?
D’Accord? D’accord.
Here’s the news from Akit: It’s ba-aaaack! Its the ZipTrek EcoTours zipline* (or ziplines, as they will have two, side-by-side). Deets are below.
Now, last year, back in 2010, the rides were free, so people were lining up at 3:00 AM. But this year, the cost will be $29, so that will certainly cut down on the riff-raff, and therefore surely shorten the queue.
(And oh, our friends from up in the Great White North just told me that they will be highly disappointed if Edwin Lee, San Francisco’s once (and future?) Mayor chickens out, if he blows off his obligation. Other Mayors have done it and it all worked out fine. See below for one example…)
This could be you:
The deets:
All guests are required to sign an Assumption of Risks and Release of Liability Agreement (coming soon) before zipping. Under 19 requires signature by a parent or guardian.
The ziplines are gravity fed, so guests do not have to worry about controlling their own speed. Guides are stationed at each tower to connect (launch platform) and disconnect (landing platform) each and every guest. Age restrictions apply and guests must weigh more than 65 pounds and no more than a maximum of 275 pounds.
When:
Summer 2011
11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. *
Where:
Justin Herman Plaza at Embarcadero Square, San Francisco, California
* times may vary on certain days”
Will you have the guts to climb a temporary tower (80 feet tall!) just like this one from 2010 to earn the right to tell your friends you rode the Justin Herman Plaza Zip Line?
Just asking.
via Josegee – click to expand
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But first, you’ll need to wait in line next to the abysmal Vaillancourt Fountain, sign a waiver, and get harnessed up.
Le mise-en-scene.
You’ll ascend the 80 foot tower and encounter a friendly Canadian guide at the top. If you need a pep talk, you’ll get one:
You’ll soon be steadying your nerves by glancing at your jump buddy…
…and then you’ll be off, into the wild bleu.
Sisters doing it for themselves:
Can you see the nervous giggles? There’s your team bonding right there.
And this is what it felt like last year. Everything zooms by with a quickness, and there’s a loud buzzing above your noggin. Some people go upside-down even.
And they’ll totally let you bring a camera to make your own YouTube:
You owe it to yourself to try.
Don’t dissappoint lovely Ashleigh. She brought her Olympic Gold all the way down here last year just so you’d consider Vancouver as the starting point for your next vacation:
And I’ll tell you, last year the kids from Project Insight were quite amused to see former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown take a run on the fantastic British Columbia Zip-Line near the Ferry Building.
Here’s an account from John Coté.
Willie, sporting cashmere, handed out souvenir mittens (I still have a pair sitting in the back seat of Mom’s Taxi) from Up North:
Then it was time to harness up:
A reluctant exchange of headgear:
It’s go time.
Then he was off:
Here’s a close-up of those cardinal socks:
The landing tower. Here’s the reverse angle from David Paul Morris
And then a press conference:
His reaction after flying through the sky?
“I was scared as Hell, but there was no way I was going to show it!”
Good for you, Mr. Brown. Will you ride again in 2011?
Anyway, if he can do it, you can too.
See you there this summer!
And get the latest info direct from la source here:
Once again, it’s time for Carnaval down in the Mission District, our “Sunshine Belt” in the 415.
This year’s is the 75th running, so won’t you come and join the fun?
All right, grab your gourd cozy…
Clique para expandir. Via David Yu
…and then fly on up to see Carnaval:
Once again, via David Yu
You know, a lot of people travel great distances to see the Carnaval, so why not you too?
“The Carnaval San Francisco Parade is always the 4th Sunday in May on Memorial Day Weekend – May 29, 2011 – Begins at Bryant & 24th at 10AM and heads up the Mission Street to 17th…”
All right, see you there!
And here are a few shots from Carnavals past:
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Rei e Rainha do Carnaval 2009? Well they certainly looked the part, anyway.
¡Irmandade! Sisters doing it for themselves:
Capoeira, as seen on Meet the Fockers
She has the rare Blood Type “C”:
Samba com criança:
Mack Daddy:
I Dream of Jeannie, or 48 Jeannies on 24th Street, or something:
Sadly, these Jeannies weren’t followed by phalanx of Major Nelsons
Mi Chevy y tu Chevy. “SICKT FO” = 1964:
Puertas de tijera – ahora mas que nunca. Will scissors doors work on my heretofore bLand Cruiser? If so, I’ll take four, plus another one on the tailgate – why not?
You’d think Zorro would have a Nissan Z-car but he makes do with his Celica and some tape.
NorCal Waste Systems, aka Golden Gate Scavenger, is now Recology:
Cão + cão = dois cães, mais ou menos
And There You Have It.
So that’s good. And you won’t be seeing headlines like, ”San Francisco proposes tax cut for Twitter” applied to this hulking white building.
It’s still attracting the curious on a daily basis down in the Mid-Market part of the Twitterloin. As seen yesterday across the street from the Chor Boogie:
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Let’s take a tour of the new museum with the only photos I have access to.
Upstairs…
…and Downstairs
That’s all I have so far – two authorized photos of the inside.
It’s $8 to get in…
Well, about 80 people, mostly Buddhists it would seem, were on hand for the noon-time soft opening of the brand spanking new International Art Museum of America today.
No photos are allowed so I didn’t stick around too long. Anyway, the downstairs part looks like a model home in a new housing development. Everything has that new-car-smell kind of new-house-smell. Lots of gold paint about – reminds me of Bellagio in Vegas. And, I’m seriously, somebody was handing out brochures and showing swatches of marble flooring or something like that.
And there’s a flowing water exhibit downstairs, just as you might imagine after seeing shots over at Curbed SF and SFist, San Francisco’s two big local websites.
Welcome welcome. Lots of monks were on hand as well:
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And then upstairs, well it’s different. There’s at least one kind of shrine exhibit up there, it’s like a mini-mausoleum, or something, dedicated to somebody – don’t recall his name. The nice windows facing Your New San Francisco Mid-Market Area are papered over so that’s kind of a bummer.
It’s not like any museum I’ve ever seen, but why don’t you get over there and then make the call? I mean, if Angelo Alioto wants to spend millions on a Catholic kind of shrine in North Beach, there’s nothing wrong with some Buddhists having their own place on Market Street, right?
They have a expereinced museum curator Dyana Curreri-Ermatinger running the show and they have security guards with sweet (embroidered?) logos on their uniforms, but they don’t have a website up yet so oh well.
Maybe they’ll release some photos or get their Go-Daddied webpage going and then I can show you or post a link. Everybody’s very friendly – ask them a question if you’re curious about anything.
IMO, this place is more like a masoleum than a museum at this point, but that’s JMO.
UPDATE: Oh, they _do_ have some photos. Here’s one.
Credit: International Art Museum of America, 2011
I’ll get some more up later…
[Playing this one straight here.]
The International Art Museum of America will soft open at noon on Tuesday, March 29th, 2011.
That’s all I know, deets below.
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All the deets:
“The new International Art Museum will indeed be opening it’s doors to the public beginning March 29. The museum will feature annual changing exhibitions of international art. During this “start-up” period, called a “soft opening”, our entrance will be at 1023 Market Street, and visitors will have access to our second floor gallery and can visit our architectural tile and art glass display, which showcases the materials used in the design of the museum.
The museum will fully open sometime in September (date for Grand Opening, TBA in April) offering access for the public to our Chinese garden on the first floor, meeting and conference rooms downstairs and a gift shop featuring many unique items related to the museum’s exhibitions.
We invite your readers to come by and visit during the next few months, take advantage of reduced admission fees: ($8.00 for adults/ $5.00 youth/senior and military) and enjoy the museum’s inaugural exhibition. Gallery hours during our “soft” opening period will be noon – 5 pm, Tuesday – Saturday.”
