A laser beam-enabled giant walrus is depicted on this mural in the Lower Haight.
Enjoy:
Click to expand
Posts Tagged ‘giant’
Public Not Invited to Mavericks Surf Contest Public Safety Meeting in Moss Beach
Monday, February 22nd, 2010The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is going to hold a “critical incident debrief” this morning down in Moss Beach – organizers of the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest have been invited to discuss the 2009-2010 season. The public and the media are specifically not invited. Well, that doesn’t sit well with some down Coastsigh-eeeeede way. Oh well.
Here’s Critical Incident Exhibit A from the 2010 contest on February 13th, 2010, when an unlucky 13 got hammered by the waves:
via dwan.mac Click to expand
Now check out the new piece from Katie Worth, and then decide if you agree with this:
“Mavericks Surf Ventures passes the buck to San Mateo County, County Counsel Michael Murphy passes the buck to Harbor District Manager Peter Grenell who passes the buck to Vandenberg Air Force Base who promptly pass the buck to Army Corps of Engineers and then the buck circles back to Mavericks Surf Ventures.”
And leave us travel back to 2006, during another Mavericks contest with crowd injuries. That was the year that Diana Rivers of Redwood City filed a lawsuit after being injured when the crowd on the bluff apparently dislodged some rocks sending them on down towards the beach. Check out this quote in a bit about the 2006 rock slide victims:
“We feel for the Rivers family and it was a terrible accident. But we’ve always regarded safety issues with the utmost importance. All managers have taken and will be taking all measures necessary to provide a safe contest for surfers and visitors.”
IMO, the post-injury palliative cliches from 2006 don’t square with the post-injury palliative cliches from 2010.
IMO
To Be Continued…
Photos – Mavericks Surf Ventures Claims Biggest Waves Ever Surfed In A Contest
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Our recent 2009-2010 Mavericks Surf Contest had the “Biggest Waves Ever Surfed In A Contest,” according to organizer Mavericks Surf Ventures. That’s what they’re claiming today, February 17th, 2010.
What do you think?
Click to expand:
“What the surfers are saying about it…
“It was an honor just to be here today and paddle out with these other guys. I flew 36 hours to be here, and this has been a dream come true.” – Chris Bertish, 09/10 Champion
———-
“The entire book of big wave surfing was re-written today.” – Greg Long
———-
“These were definitely the biggest waves I have ever paddled into.” – Shane Desmond
———-
“No excuses on a day like today, it was perfect. Whatever you wanted, you could take.” – Anthony Tashnick
———-
“It was undoubtedly the largest surf any paddle-in contest has ever seen.” – Dave Wassel
———-
“There is such a brotherhood in the lineup. These people are my family.” – Carlos Burle
———-
“Today took big-wave surfing to another notch.” – Gary Linden, Head Judge”
Of course the event was not without controversy. Perhaps MSV will address that at some point?
Regardless, It was an epic day.
The Reason Why Mavericks Surf Ventures is Dead Wrong about Injury-Causing Rogue Waves
Monday, February 15th, 2010First of all, let’s acknowledge the fine performances of all the competitors at our recent Mavericks Surf Contest 2009-2010 and especially that of Chris Bertish. As it turned out, his victory was overshadowed somewhat by discussion of the giant “rogue” sneaker waves* that injured a dozen or so spectators.
Mad props:
Having said that, let’s take a look at higher-def footage of the problem, ably shot by KRON VJ (video jockey) Haaziq Madyun. And here’s the reverse angle. And ganderize your eyes on this bird’s-eye view of the scene. If this were the Olympics, this would be the Olympic Village:
via dwan.mac click to expand
O.K. then. Comes now MSV’s Matriarch and area Realtor Katherine Clark to say:
“It’s unfortunate that the focus has been on people not knowing to be aware of the ocean around them. I don’t see how on Earth we could be responsible for people willfully going to the ocean.”
And let’s hear from MSV CEO and former lawyer Kier Beidling:
“Bringing common sense is a must for anyone who shows up to watch from the beach.”
Fair enough, but isn’t this your temporary awards stand getting demolished by a tiny tsunami? Was “common sense” used to place it there?
And wasn’t this formerly-underwater piece of sound equipment placed exactly where you wanted it to be?
So please let’s go easy on any more nagging, patronizing Respect The Ocean talk coming from MSV, considering that MSV and its sponsors appeared to be just as unaware as some of the spectators.
In other words, if this unsecured P.A. loudspeaker ended up killing a fan, all the DANGER: HEAVY SURF signs in all Christendom wouldn’t save your hides from a dead-bang, seven-figure wrongful death lawsuit. (If you think you see a bunch of people people in the water around the speaker in the video, your guess is correct.)
So that is exactly “how on Earth we [MSV] could be responsible for people willfully going to the ocean.”
(Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly!)
In other words, from the 2/16/10 Santa Cruz Sentinel:
“The Maverick’s contest organizers probably realize that, in retrospect, it was unwise to put scaffolding and platforms in an exposed area and then allow spectators too close to the high tide line and a seawall along the Pillar Point coastline.”
You see? That’s why the party line of having MSV reps repeatedly bleating about how spectators just need some common sense doesn’t wash.
Now do I think that this fellow (people never seem to let go of their cameras or their beer, huh?) and others who got banged up by the surf on their own will win any possible lawsuits their shysters file? No.
But do I suppose that things could be handled differently by Mavericks Surf Ventures the next go around?
Yes.
(Contrary to what you might have heard, no post mortem meetings with county (or other) authoritahs are scheduled this week. But they’ll be coming soon.)
*Or surge or whatever. It’d be nice to have one descriptive term to cover all these different words…
Rogue Waves at 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest – Video Showing What Happened
Saturday, February 13th, 2010[UPDATE: Even more better vids have turned up today, links right here. Still hunting for 1080p High Def...]
Here’s some video from creilly94010* showing a giant rogue wave that injured spectators at the 2009-2010 Mavericks Surf Contest in Princeton-by-the-Sea / Half Moon Bay today. The video only has two YouTube views now but nevertheless it, so far, does the best job of showing what went wrong.
From the bluff, with people on the rocky seawall getting inundated by the wave:
Those are temporary structures temporarily in the water.
Here’s view from the seawall during the 2005 Contest, looking up at the bluff – nice and dry that year. Click to expand:
UPDATE: Comes now KRON Channel 4 FTW. Their video shows the same wave as the one shown above crashing through the seawall like it was nothing. The beach here has more than its fair share of random boulders, hence the danger:
And here’s a first person report from reporter Beth Spotswood. And here’s a discussion of just what, in fact, constitutes a wave’s rogue-ness.
(Waves going rogue at Mavericks- there’ll be a Sarah Palin joke to make once everybody’s recovered 100%.)
This kind of incident hasn’t happened at prior contests – it’ll be interesting to see what changes, if any, are made at future events…
* Of Burlingame, this is not San Francisco’s famous C. Reilly
Giant Chinese AT-AT Cranes Have Now Become Symbols of Oakland
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010The Rockridge Trader Joe ’s at 5727 College Ave is now using this giant model of the giant container cranes of the Port of Oakland to symbolize the City of Oakland.
Well played, Rockridge TJ’s.
Click to expand
Star of Bethlehem Fails to Appear Atop Civic Center’s Giant Christmas Tree 2009
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009Our 2007 Civic Center Christmas / Holiday tree had a big Star of Bethlehem on top all the way through the season.
Our 2008 tree had a star that came and went.
And now, our 2009 tree has no star at all. Oh well. Looks a little plain now, huh?
Maybe they’re still working on it. Click to expand
Speaking of plain, take note of the Great Gravel Plain of Civic Center – it’s what we get this year instead of grass or a Victory Garden the way we had last year.
Oh well.
If you like holiday trees, head to City Hall, where Rita Moreno (ask about her Grammy, Oscar, Emmy,and Tony) will star at the Rainbow World Fund Tree of Hope 2009 lighting celebration.
“Come to the tree lighting celebrationat City Hall with Mayor Gavin Newsom. Join us as we gather wishes and hopes for the future of our global community and give them wings. The event takes place on the rotunda inside San Francisco City Hall and features a concert by the San Francisco Boys Chous, Veronica Klaus and more. Free beverages and light refreshments.
- 5:30 pm – Concert by the San Francisco Boys Chorus
- 6:00 pm – Tree lighting celebration – Stuart Milk, nephew of Harvey Milk, will deliver a message of hope Presentations by actresses Rita Moreno, Sharon Gless and Yasumasa Nagamine, the Consul General of Japan.
- 6:30 pm – Veronica Klaus will perform at a party to follow till 8:00 pm.
Send a wish to the Rainbow World Fund and they’ll turn it into an origami crane which they’ll add to the tree.
See you there.
Loveable I AM PABST Mural Has San Francisco Laughing. Squid + Tennis + Beer = ???
Thursday, July 16th, 2009This huge Pabst Blue Ribbon mural on 7th Street is arresting, no? (Do the people at the beloved and hugely-trafficked (hundreds of thousands of visitors monthly) Laughing Squid website know about this yet?)
Free public art, and yet, some scowl:
“Wow they finally figured out a way to combine the two of the things hipsters love most….Pabst and Cephalopods. If only they could have figured a way to get some yarn or felt in there?”
“I Am Pabst- by Jacob White, Los Gatos, CA.” Click to expand:
As seen in front of the McAllister Tower part of Hastings College of Law, University of California, which is a just a ”15 minute walk from Little Saigon.” (Ah yes, Hastings, where the “impoverished” students never drive German cars, and never power their marijuana grow lamps with unmetered electricity at the 100 McAllister dorms. Heavens no.)
Here’s a larger version for you to click on. How would you compare it with what they have in Kansas City? Or Minneapolis? Or Seattle? Or Boise? Is the artist referencing The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Royal Tenenbaums? Food for thought.
Actually, this is almost like a national ad campaign. Oh well. Check the gallery for 2007 and 2008. Enter the PBArt contest for next year, why not?
By now, you should feel like getting some smokes as well some ice-cold PBRs – after all, it’s a Pabst Summer:
As seen in Alamo, CA.
The Giant Sundial of San Francisco’s Hunters Point Ridge
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009Did you know there’s a giant 78-foot long sundial gnomon pointer-thingee jutting up out of the highest part of Bayview / Hunters Point? I didn’t.
But there it is, sitting in Yelp-rated Hilltop Park. This is what it looks like at the top of 275-foot tall Hunters Point Ridge with San Francisco Bay / Estuary in the background.
Click to expand.
The More You Know…
Aftermath of the Arson Attack on the Twin Peaks Pink Triangle
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009Here’s what Twin Peaks looks like after the intentional act of arson over the weekend:
Click to expand.
This is what it looks like a little higher up from the Twin Peaks Overlook:
It seems like a pink Hindenburg crashed:
And the remaining balloons look like the start of a Christo art exhibit
Anyway, it looks like a few road flares could have done the damage, which amounts to about 150 square feet or so of charring.
Oh well.
