My City By The Bay

Photo courtesy of SFist

Today, the Clorox Company offered a Five Thousand Dollar reward and a full year of cleaning supplies for information on the porta potty pyro serial arsonist.  No, this is NOT an April fools joke.  This has been going on in the North Beach, Nob Hill and Russian Hill neighborhoods of San Francisco since last year.  There have been 27 fires set at various porta potties around the city.

In order to bring awareness to this problem, protesters armed themselves with plungers and signs with slogans like “We’re not going to take this sitting down” and marched through city streets.

Now while I have absolutely no idea why these porta potties are even placed in residential neighborhoods, the only solution I see is to remove them.  There are public toilets in areas where there is much traffic but in quiet neighborhoods?  It doesn’t make sense.

The San Francisco Fire Department has enough to do without cleaning up after the poop predator.  Seriously, this is not a joke.  Here is a link to the story on ABC7 News - my favorite news station.

This flowering tree at the Botanical Gardens in San Francisco provided such an interesting color scheme that I had to grab a couple of photos.  The dark trunk and branches against the pink and while flowers just brought out a beautiful pastel colored palette against a blue sky backdrop and earthtone brush.

Different angles of the same tree brought unique scenarios to the story.  The brilliant colors of this tree are not adequately captured in the photos.  It is something glorious to be experienced and savored.  It is mesmerizing in it’s vivid detail.  I often wish I had the ability as an artist to capture nature such as this on canvas.   Maybe in a next life?  Until then my photos will hold lasting memories.

The gardens are full of unique and exotic, plants, trees and flowers.  It is a photographer’s dream.   So, if you love to take photos and are in the area, take a jaunt out to the gardens and put your camera to work.

American Hwangap at Magic Theatre
A bittersweet homecoming is in store for Min Suk, a Korean immigrant character in Lloyd Suh’s new play at Magic Theatre. Join the family he left behind as they get ready to celebrate his 60th birthday in American Hwangap …

The Bay Area’s Best Tamales
The Benchmark Institute’s celebrated Taste of Tamales By the Bay fundraiser returns to Fort Mason Center. Sample tasty tamales, heirloom beans and sala, listen to storytellers and lively music, and watch the fast-paced Margarita contest …

Cheers For the Beer Fest
The San Francisco International Beer Festival brings hundreds of craft brews and beer-friendly cuisine to the Festival Pavilion to raise funds for a cooperative nursery school. Learn more about this popular beer extravaganza …

Zen Values & Greens Cuisine
Greens Restaurant and the San Francisco Zen Center hold a delicious banquet and awards ceremony to honor leaders exemplifying the values of Zen Buddhism. Be inspired by the award-winners and the cuisine at this worthwhile fundraising event …

Purchase tickets online for Fort Mason Center events through their online Box Office:
www.fortmason.org/boxoffice

Get the latest updates on What’s Happening in April in Fort Mason Center’s Web calendar, including the “Taking the Sea” lecture at the Maritime Library: www.fortmason.org/calendar/2009/04/week1.shtml

Learn something new at one or more of the many Classes and Workshops held at Fort Mason Center: www.fortmason.org/classesworkshops

I am always in awe of nature and what it has to offer.  Both of these photos were taken on the same day at the Botanical Gardens.  Both trees were about 30 feet from each other, yet look at the contrast.  While the photo above is adorned in colorful rapture the photo below is desolate yet telling.  Trees are as people.  They grow confident and with limbs that intertwine, sometimes gnarled, sometimes flowered yet always unique and beautiful in their own way.

People are the same.  We all have different characteristics and features and are beautiful in our own skin.  As the photo below depicts, it has not yet embraced Spring yet it’s wisdom is displayed in its’ gnarled branches.  Beautiful and unique.

For giant redwoods and a quaint beach side community, click below for more information on the Muir Woods & Sausalito day tours.

Restless

Restless
as changing leaves
unfold seasons
of mystery, new life

 despair

 One
among multitudes
unique, yet alike
chasing winds

 nowhere

 Grounded
not the leaf
nor I
entangled limbs

 uncertain

 Intertwined.

by: Joanne Olivieri

Courtesy of www.cherylburkedance.com

In addition to being home to many a plant, flower and tree species, the botanical gardens in San Francisco also hosts various gazebos, bridges, foot paths and structures.  
Beautiful blooming flowers and plants surround the wooden gazebo as seen in my photo above.  There are foot paths leading to the gazebo with benches to accommodate visitors.  This is one of the many spots you can relax, read, have lunch or practice your Tai Chi as many do during the morning hours.  I’m actually very pleased with this photo.  I have literally taken dozens and dozens of pictures of this gazebo over the years and due to weather and sunlight conditions they have never turned out well enough to post online.  Thankfully this photo is half way decent.

There are also a few garden vignettes within the botanical gardens.  Many of them are purchased by residents and built in tribute to loved ones.  The many wooden benches in the gardens are bought and placed in tributes as well.  The particular vignette as seen above is fashioned with a wooden archway, a stone bench and many flowers.  My favorite in this area is the small Japanese vignette of which I will highlight at a later date.

As you walk around the gardens you will find many rest stops equipped with stone and wooden benches allowing you to just soak in the natural surroundings.  As we speak, they are in the final stages of a wooden foot path near the pond area where you can sit, relax and bask in the tropical surroundings.  I can’t wait until that area is complete.

More tomorrow.

Life is but a stopping place,
A pause in what’s to be,
A resting place along the road,
to sweet eternity.
We all have different
journeys,
Different paths along the way,
We all were meant to learn some things,
but never meant to stay…
Our destination is a place,
Far greater than we know.
For some the journey’s quicker,
For some the journey’s slow.
And when the journey finally ends,
We’ll claim a great reward,
And find an everlasting peace,
Together with the lord

Author unknown

Heart of Chaos and South First Billiards proudly present Girl Power, an art exhibit featuring local artists Christine Benjamin, Lacey Bryant, Lara Sophia and Marylea “Murphy” Adams. Art will be on display throughout April and May 2009.
Don’t miss this exciting showcase and live performances by Bay Area talent!

Gallery Hours : 4pm-2am M-Sat & 7pm-2am Sun

The arts are a huge part of San Francisco and the Bay Area.  The entertainment industry has also taken a hit during these tough economic times.  The government’s stimulus package will give over fifty million dollars to the entertainment industry and generate over 5 million new jobs and one hundred and seventy million in entertainment activities.  This is a huge boost for the San Francisco and Bay Area economy.  You can read more at the ABC7 News website.

Courtesy of Fort Mason Center

Did you know that you can use the Golden Gate Bridge as a thermometer? Or that flags flying at different heights along the San Francisco skyline might double as a wind observatory? A new Outdoor Exploratorium features a collection of 20 brand-new outdoor interactive science exhibits and artworks. Visitors can find the Outdoor Exploratorium at Fort Mason between San Francisco’s Aquatic Park and the Marina District, beginning in mid-March 2009. Dotted along the waterfront at Fort Mason Center and in the adjoining 55-acre National Park in Upper Fort Mason, these exhibits harness the wind, the waves, marine life, and the man-made and natural environments in this urban waterfront site.

The Outdoor Exploratorium is for noticing and learning, a place to deepen understanding of the natural world, and an opportunity to apply the scientific principles of observation and experimentation to the outdoors — all for free. More information is available on the web at www.exploratorium.edu/outdoor .