Homeless encampment, major Japanese city, city center, down by the river:
Click to expand
Note the bicycle parking area.
Cf. San Francisco homeless encampment, under Interstate I-80, Mile Zero:
Note identical blue tarps as in Japan, sourced from, for all I know, the same factory in China.
One group uses bikes to get around, like to work ‘n stuff.
The other will strip your bike of any parts not superglued on in a New York Minute, as soon as your back is turned.
Which group do you prefer?
Back in the day down there betwixt San Francisco’s Financial District and the Golden Gateway Apartments, tourists would come along and just hold their hands out, with astonishing results.
Wild parrots looking for a handout – via Gwen in a great capture from 2007, before The Law:
Click to expand
Ah mem’ries;
First it was all like this (Yes, this is the view you’ll get of the 415′s famous wild parrots from our Filbert Steps.)
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
But now it’s all like this. (Gee, should I get a Chinese character inked on my Europid skin and be a laughingstock for the rest of my life or should I get something cool like this instead? Mmmm, decisions, decisions…)
Wow! That’s a good one, Deanna Wardin of Tattoo Boogaloo.
That’s the best tattoo I’ve seen in the 415.
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill were made famous a few years back by the movie with the same name. Get the new Special Two-Disc Collector’s Edition today, why don’t you?
A friendly pair in the Presidio. Click to expand:
They love to fly…
and eat flowers.
Look to the Skies for Signs and Wonders…
So, yes, January is a very early time to see cherry trees start to blossom but what you’re actually seeing are plum trees.
Now both kinds of trees are pretty much the same thing, so no biggee, but plums come out earlier than cherries – global warming doesn’t have anything to do with that.
Oh, here’s what they look like, rather a bit more pink than cherry, in my experience.
Near Clay and Davis, Financial District:
And here’s a nice shot from Flickr:
Believe it or not, this is a color photograph of the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.
A view from the Financial from a few days back:
Click to expand
But leave us remember more colorful San Francisco scenes…
First it was all like this (Yes, this is the view you’ll get of the 415′s famous wild parrots from our Filbert Steps.)
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill – Click to expand
But now it’s all like this. (Gee, should I get a Chinese character inked on my Europid skin and be a laughingstock for the rest of my life or should I get something cool like this instead? Mmmm, decisions, decisions…)
Wow! That’s a good one, Deanna Wardin of Tattoo Boogaloo.
[UPDATE: OMG, OMG, it's their One Year Anniversary on July 30th, 2011 - Joyeux anniversaire, Tattoo du Boogaloo! All the deets.]
That’s the best tattoo I’ve seen in the 415.
Ever more deets, after the jump
[UPDATE: OMG, OMG, it's their One Year Anniversary on July 30th, 2011 - Joyeux anniversaire, Tattoo du Boogaloo! All the deets.]
First it was all like this (Yes, this is the view you’ll get of the 415′s famous wild parrots from our Filbert Steps.)
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill – Click to expand
But now it’s all like this. (Gee, should I get a Chinese character inked on my Europid skin and be a laughingstock for the rest of my life or should I get something cool like this instead? Mmmm, decisions, decisions…)
Wow! That’s a good one, Deanna Wardin of Tattoo Boogaloo.
That’s the best tattoo I’ve seen in the 415.
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill were made famous a few years back by the movie with the same name. Get the new Special Two-Disc Collector’s Edition today, why don’t you?
A friendly pair in the Presidio. Click to expand:
They love to fly…
and eat flowers.
Look to the skies…
Somehow.
Thusly:
As seen near the Friend Gate of the now-paywalled Strybing Arboretum
Click to expand
Kirei desu ne!
Could be.
These South American parrots should feel right at home in a south-of-the-Equator tree, non?
Click to expand
Will their chicks soon join the flock in Telegraph Hill?
Or maybe they’ll just end up hanging out in Sue Bierman Park eating flowers:
It will be one or the other, probably…
See?
Click to expand
My campaign to get area residents to call plum trees “plum trees” is picking up steam. Now, remember back in aught-eight, when some people called mountain lions “cougars?” Good times,* right? Well, those days are history. And, similarly, tout le 415 will be calling cherry trees “cherry trees” by January 2014 at the latest.
You’ll see.
*”Cougar corners St. Mary’s Hoopster in Danville” – that kind of thing.
First started noticing these blooms a couple of days ago:
Click to expand
Some people think they are cherry blossoms. Check it:
Well it’s late January in San Francisco so it’s time for our sidewalk plum trees to begin blossoming. Yeah, they look a lot like cherry trees and that causes people around town to start talking about how global warming / climate change is making the cherry trees of April wake up three months early or something.
You can double-check with the Friends of the Urban Forest if you want, but I’ll tell you, those flashes of pink you see brightening up the otherwise-dreary Streets of San Francsico these days are early-rising Prunus blireiana, aka Flowering Plum trees, or something similar.
Be patient and you’ll be rewarded with real cherry trees in March – check out the sked at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.
If this January blossom is cherry, I’ll eat my hat:
This will be the scene in the Financh in a couple of months – our wild parrots love all kinds of prunus blossoms of course.
Take heart, Spring is just around the corner…
You’ve already met the Court of the 2010 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Queen Program a while back, so now take a look at David Yu’s photos from last night’s big event at the Sundance Kabuki Theatre on Post in Japantown.
All photos via DavidYuWeb.
Here’s the new Queen for 2010 – Arisa Hiroi, a student at UC Davis:
And here’s the entire 2010 Court at the end of last night’s program: Ayae Yamamoto, Corey Yasuye Fujioka, Arisa Hiroi, Ashley Kiyoko Nakatani, Jennifer Kiyomi Tanaka:
Name: Ayae Yamamoto
Sponsor: Nikei Lion Club of San Francisco
Education: BA from UC Berkeley
Employer/Position: University Eye Center (Berkeley)/Patient Services Assistant
Goals: Become a physician (OB/GYN) volunteering in third world nations
Age: 23
Parents/Residence: Taashi and Masako Yamamoto / San Francisco, CA
Name: Corey Yasuye Fujioka
Sponsor: Takara Sake USA Incorporated
Education: BS in Food Science from Cal Poly State University
Employer/Position Held: Sweet Earth Chocolates (SLO)/Chocolate Production
Goals: To change the way we eat: physically, mentally, environmentally and financially healthy
Age: 22
Parents/Residence: Rober Masami and Diance Keiko Fujioka / Fremont, CA
Name: Arisa Hiroi
Sponsor: Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California
Education: BA expected in 2010 from University of California Davis in Japanese and Sociology AB/Minor in Education
Employer/Position held: UCD East Asian Languages & Cultures Dept/Japanese Dept Reader
Goals: To become a Japanese teacher in US
Age: 19
Parents/Residence: Kunikiko and Mari Hiroi / San Francisco, CA
Name: Ashley Kiyoko Nakatani
Sponsor: Nikkei West
Education: BA June 2010 from University of California Davis double Major in International Relations and Communications with a Minor in Writing
Employer/Position Held: UC Davis Washington Program/Student Advisor and Minato Japanese Restaurant/Server and Hostess
Goals: Pursue a career in the field of International Relations with companies doing business in Japan
Age: 22
Parents/Residence: Neal Kanji Nakatani, Patricia Kiyoko Sakauye / San Jose, CA
Name: Jennifer Kiyomi Tanaka
Sponsor: Golden Gate Optimists Club of San Francisco
Education: BS in Health Science/Minor in Psychology form Dominican University of California, MS i Occupational Therapy expected from Dominican University of California
Employer/Position Held: Knowledge Learning Corporation-Champions/After school Science Instructor
Goals: Knowledgeable and innovative therapist-advocate and empower on personal and community level
Age: 22
Parents/Residence: Harry Hidejiro Tanaka (HI), Susan Hisako Tanaka (SF) / San Francisco, CA
And here’s the 2009 Court coming back to join in:
Congratulations to all.
“The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival now celebrating its 43rd year, is one of California’s most prominent celebrations of Asian traditions. Each year, over 150,000 people attend this dazzling display showcasing the color and grace of the Japanese culture and the diversity of the Japanese American Community. Please join us and become a sponsor of this popular Japanese American community event.
This year’s Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday April 10-11 and April 17-18, 2010. All are welcome to join in the festivities as we celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture in San Francisco’s Japantown!
The festival will be held on Post Street between Laguna and Fillmore Streets. There will be food booths, cultural performances, martial arts, live bands, the annual Queen Program, and more. The Grand Parade will be held on April 18, beginning at City Hall and concluding in Japantown.
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival is said to be the second largest festival outside of Washington, D.C. to celebrate the blooming of cherry blossoms; and held at one of three remaining Japantowns in the United States.
