Posts Tagged ‘Columbus’
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
The first thing you need to do with your General Motors [1908-2009, R.I.P] B-Platform [1959-1991, R.I.P.] is a lift (some people use stacks of hockey pucks) so you can fit your twenty-something inch wheels beneath. And then you need to tint the windows in violation of the California Vehicle Code. Now, you’re done.
Get your friends inside and you’re ready for a slow roll down Columbus. (Menancing stares through half-closed windows optional.) Thusly:
Click to expand
Of course, you can just go out and buy a B-Body if you don’t have one.
Choose wisely:
Tags: B., beach blanket babylon boulevard, body, ca, caprice, Chevrolet, chevy, Columbus, cvc, dubs, green, impala, north beach, platform, San Francisco, street, tinted, Wheels, windows
Posted in cars | No Comments »
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
This was how it looked back in the day on Market Street near the Old Navy Flagship Store at the intersection of Fourth and Towne Market. The Church of Scientology had some of its members do some outreach, perhaps they still do that these days.
Anyway, you touch “the cans” and that shows how much stress you have, or something. (Actually, one thing the test tells you how much your grip changes when you hold the cans – do you think that’s a useful measure of anything?)
Click to expand:
So, one problem is that the whole idea is ridiculous and another is that the Scientologist him/herself might be pressured into buying one of the E-Meters the metal can things are connected to. That’s something on the order of $4000 – an awful lot for a P.O.S., really. Even the eBay price seems to have no relationship to the cost of the parts used to make it. So who’s the real victim in this photo? Hard to tell.
Presenting the “Mark Super VII Quantum E-meter”
Anyway, a passerby suggested to the person in the first photo to, “Drop the cans and run. Run Girl, Run!”
Tags: 701, apple, avenue, cans, church, Columbus, e-meter, emeter, fourth, Hubbard, L, mark, market, Montgomery, open house, quantum, Recruiting, ron, San Francisco, scientologist, scientology, store, street, Super, vii
Posted in paranormal | Comments Off
Friday, September 4th, 2009
This is the scene you’ll see these days at 701 Montgomery betwixt the Financh and North Beach – it’s Open House at the Scientology Mothership!
Well, let’s hear the pitch, from spokesmodel Tom Cruise. O.K. fine.
Fresh-faced recruits/
For ghastly pursuits:
And let’s hear from the other side, from a recent visitor to the building:
“The man from the front came over and said it was a “stress tester” and I immediately volunteered (at this point my date is wondering how fast he can drop me off). I held these silver canisters in my hands and watched this needle.
Scientologist: How’s work is going?
A: Fine.
Scientologist: What is your boss’ name?
A: Erica
[Needle was pretty steady.]
Scientologist: What’s your Mom’s name?
A: Pat
[Needle moves up a bit.]
Scientologist: What’s your Dad’s name?
A: Bob.
[Needle jumps.]
Scientologist: Ah…there is some tension with your Dad!
A: No, in fact, I am closer to him than my Mom. (I do understand why that’s a safe bet – most of my friends have issues with their Dad.)
[Scientologist ignores this comment and moves on.]
Scientologist: Are you married or dating?
A: This guy right here. (I should write a book on what not to do when you just start dating someone.)
[Needle moves up a bit.]
Scientologist: Well what would you say is causing you the most stress in your life right now? (Reminded me of when Kramer pretended to be the movie phone guy, “Well why don’t you just tell me the name of the movie you want to see?”)”
The story goes on, check it out.
The way the building looks on protest days:
And There You Have It.
Tags: 701, avenue, church, Columbus, Montgomery, open house, Recruiting, San Francisco, scientologist, scientology, street
Posted in paranormal | 2 Comments »
Friday, July 31st, 2009
The Pedestrianist today reminds us all that the temporary closure of 184 feet of Mason Street begins tomorrow, August 1, 2009. (And, as ususal, The Streetsblog can always get you up to speed on streets issues right quick.)
Check it. Can you see that tiny stretch of Mason between Lombard and Columbus? Imagine people lounging about (in the middle of the damn street!) for the next eight weeks or so.
Click to expand:
Here’s the mise-en-scene:
See the upper left corner? That little triangle is your possible future library location, pending NIMBY approval:
So if you ever experience congestion in North Beach or Chinatown or Fisherman’s Wharf, be sure to blame it on this tiny temporary plaza.
Will it be a “traffic nightmare“? The people at Save Mason Street think so.
Brace yourselves…
Tags: 1, 1st, 2009, 2010, august, bikes, closed, closure, Columbus, county, curbed, department, dept., Dimaggio, dpw, fishermans, fishermans wharf, iscott, Joe, Joe Dimaggio, library, mason, mason street, months, nimby, nimbys, north beach, pedestrian, pedestrianist, Planning, plaza, public, San Francisco, save, save mason street, SF, sfist, street, streetsblog, temporary, trial
Posted in streets | 3 Comments »
Monday, July 6th, 2009
Have you seen this one yet? Read all about it, below.
Click to expand:
via Steve Rhodes
The San Francisco Arts Commission’s The Language of the Birds Recognized as One of America’s Best Public Artworks at the 2009 Americans for the Arts Convention in Seattle.
San Francisco, CA, June 26, 2009– Luis R. Cancel, director of cultural affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission, is pleased to announce that The Language of the Birds, a permanent site-specific sculpture by San Francisco artists Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn located at the intersection of Broadway and Columbus avenues, was selected as one of the best public artworks in the United States at the 2009 Americans for the Arts convention held in Seattle from June 18–20. During the annual Public Art Year in Review session, two independent art experts, artists Janet Echelman and Mildred Howard, presented 40 of their top choices for the most innovative permanent or temporary public artworks created or debuted in 2008. The Language of the Birds was chosen from more than 300 entries from across the country.
“Since its dedication in November, The Language of the Birds has brought excitement and poetry to a dense urban streetscape, transforming one of the City’s busiest intersections into a destination. The artwork also set a new precedent as the first solar power-offset public artwork in California,” stated Luis R. Cancel. “We are proud to receive this honor as it brings national attention to San Francisco’s community of pioneering local artists and exemplary Public Art Program, which is deeply committed to enriching our City by commissioning new artworks of the highest standards.”
In addition to Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn, San Francisco-artists JD Beltran and Scott Minneman’s recent project Downtown Mirror located in downtown San Jose and Teresa Camozzi’s Now Becomes Memories, Tomorrow Becomes Now at the Haggard Library in Plano, Texas also received recognition at the Public Art Year in Review session.
According to Supervisor David Chiu, “The Language of the Birds has become an iconic landmark for District 3 where locals and tourists alike stop to marvel at the installation. I congratulate Brian Goggin and Dorka Keehn along with the other San Francisco-based artists on achieving such an honor. Their work has helped distinguish this City as a world-class destination for arts and culture.”
For nine years the Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America, has recognized public artworks. The artists and commissioning organizations involved in creating and citing the recognized public artworks will receive letters of recognition and congratulations from Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch.
For more information about The Language of the Birds, visit the “Press Release” section at www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection or contact Kate Patterson at kate.patterson@sfgov.org.
ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION AND THE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM
Established by charter in 1932, the San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts in San Francisco. Led by the belief that a creative cultural environment is essential to the City’s well-being, the Arts Commission programs permeate all aspects of City life. Programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Arts & Education, Cultural Equity Grants, Public Art, SFAC Gallery, Street Artist Licensing, and summer in the City Concert Series.
The Arts Commission’s Public Art Program was established by the City Arts Enrichment Ordinance in 1969, as one of the first of its kind in the country. The Public Art Program seeks to promote a diverse and stimulating cultural environment to enrich the lives of the city’s residents, visitors and employees. The Program encourages the creative interaction of artists, designers, city staff, officials and community members during the design of City projects in order to develop public art that is specific to the site and meaningful to the community.
Tags: Americans for the Arts, Arts Commission, Best Public Artworks, birds, Brian Goggin, broadway, california, Columbus, convention, director, director of cultural affairs, Dorka Keehn, intersection, language, Language of the Birds, Luis Cancel, Luis R. Cancel, north beach, San Francisco, San Francisco Arts Commission, sculpture, seattle, Steve Rhodes, street
Posted in art | Comments Off
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
This was the scene when former San Francisco Mayor and urban planner Willie Brown dropped by the newly reopened Washington Square Bar and Grill in North Beach. The place was packed last night, with slightly more than the maximum occupancy of 103 souls. Read about “bachelor” Willie L. Brown, Jr. and the Washington Square Bar and “Grille” here in the LATimes. (And read about the night’s “weirdness” here, from Steven T. Jones.)
It’s the 1970′s all over again. The WashBaG is BACK, baby!
Click to expand
Here’s what they said about the WashBag the before it closed last year:
“This SF landmark, re-opened after being painstakingly restored, is a perfect time capsule of Herb Cain-era North Beach, when writers, politicians, musicians, professional athletes and charmingly crooked cops all schmoozed, boozed and occasionally ate here. Gimmick-free and defiantly old-school, “The Washbag” clings to its history with memorabilia and framed black-and-whites of local icons…”
The only thing missing was writer Herb Caen, but he was there in spirit, embracing his beloved North Beach, in a way.
Herb Caen Way, a “25-foot-wide pedestrian promenade, running 3.2 miles along the waterfront next to the Embarcadero from South Beach to Fisherman’s Wharf.”
Long Live the Washbag
Tags: 1707, ave. avenue, bar, bar & grill, bar and grill, biography, board, brown, Columbus, grill, grille, james richardson, Jr, junior, L, los angeles times, Mayor, north beach, Powell, rba, residential builders association, street, supervisors, tony hall, union, washington square, willie, willie brown
Posted in food and drink | Comments Off
Friday, December 19th, 2008
Well, lookie here at the shiny, shiny top of the Transamerica Pyramid. Now, of course, at night during some special times (your November-December-New Year’s holiday mish-mash plus the Fourth of July) you can see an electric light up there, (as seen here on the far left).
But this shot wasn’t taken at nightime. That’s the noonday sun shining off of the westward face of the four-yard-tall mini-pyramid that tops the whole shebang.
Click to expand:. A seen from the brand spanking new Crissy Field Overlook in the Presidio:
Here’s a better look in black and white from the same angle just a few minutes later:
Of course, you can still see the reflected light but the intensity is about a hundred times less than the direct reflection seen in the colour photo.
It’s probably a polished metal panel up there, possibly aluminum.
Look for the Star of the Pyramid - you just might see it someday, if the sun lines up just right.
Tags: aluminum, center, clay, Columbus, Crissy Field, light, metal, Montgomery, nub, overlook, polished, presidio, pyramid, reflected, sacramento, San Francisco, shiny, street, transamerica, trust
Posted in architecture | Comments Off
Monday, October 13th, 2008
Well it’s still there on the 2008 Italian Heritage Parade website:
“We’re pleased to announce, the 2008 Parade Grand Marshal will be Tommy Lasorda!”
But alas, it was not to be. The whole thing is ably explained by North Beach Examiner Tony Long here and here. Perhaps Tommy will be invited back next year?
Now, on with the show. It’s called Columbus Day, or Indigenous People’s Day, or Italian Heritage Day, or Día de la Raza, or Discovery Day or even Día de la Resistencia Indígena. Take your pick.
Popular San Francisco Supervisor and soon-to-be Assembly Member Tom Ammiano. Click to expand:
Ivy League lawyer / U.C. Berkeley-grad Gerardo Sandoval hot on the campaign to become a judge, despite the hostility displayed by the local Establishment, which feels offended by the very idea of an election. Oh well.
Supervisor Ross “the Boss” Mirkarimi:
Miss San Francisco 2008 Reny Lupo:
Of course, Birra Peroni was nella casa:
As was the Boudin Bakery alligator wrestler. That’s real bread, people.
What’s this? Hundreds of Falun Gong! They looked to be the largest entry in the parade by far.
Hey look, it’s the wholly unrelated New Tang Dynasty Televsion (NTDTV):
O.K., here we are, back to the parade:
So that’s it.
Here’s to you, Tommy Lasorda/ Our county turns it lonely eyes to you…
See you next year?
Tags: 2008, Columbus, day, falun dafa, falun gong, fishermans wharf, heritage, italian, miss, parade, Reny Lupo, San Francisco, tommy lasorda
Posted in events | 2 Comments »
Friday, June 13th, 2008
It’s been printed in the San Francisco Examiner, (so it must be true):
Captain James Dudley of Central Station in North Beach plans to ask the San Francisco Entertainment Commission to consider making mandatory handstamps specific to a bar or club so police can more easily make connections between specific locations and drunken behavior.
According to the Cap’n, “it would be helpful to be able to track people.”
Will this idea pass constitutional muster? Is it justified? Feel free to read the Captain’s weekly newsletters to see what he’s dealing with on a nightly basis in the world-famous North Beach area.
Will mandatory handstamps make your San Francisco bacchanal safer? Adamcomerford via Flickr
Be sure you don’t spend too much time showing off all your temporary tracking stamps to your friends on the street, as loitering too long in front of a club will soon get you into hot water as well.
Stay safe and have fun!
Tags: alcohol, antiloitering, arrest, bar, broadway, Captain, club, Columbus, drinking, drunk, dudley, Entertainment Commission, Examiner, hand, hand stamp, i., infraction, james, james dudley, james i. dudley, law, loitering, mandatory, nightclub, north beach, ordinance, police deprtment, proposed, reentry, San Francisco, SFPD, stamp, stamping, tracking, underaged
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
