San Francisco is best appreciated when you let fate be your compass. On a Sunday morning during the peak of Oracle OpenWorld, I was returning from a run when I stumbled on the massive Chevys Fresh Mex sign being lowered onto the street at 3rd and Howard in SoMa. The landmark symbol was coming down,…
Table tennis and competitive sailing really aren’t strange bedfellows. Both are made up of team spirit, enthusiasm, cultural bonding and can easily go down big on the same day as a spectator sport in San Francisco. Just as San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee celebrated the second annual Chinatown Sunday Streets and Ping Pong tournament, he…
The title of Allen Ginsberg’s noted poem – once considered too obscene by authorities to sell at City Lights – is now celebrated on baby onesies in the window of the famed bookstore in San Francisco’s North Beach. Some 57 years after the beat scene dawned, the era is remembered and revered on every corner.…
Woody Allen is filming in San Francisco after a 40-year hiatus and Twitter is lighting up daily with crew sightings. I had the good fortune of catching up with them on Saturday as they set up shop for another day of shooting at 14th and Van Ness in the Mission to film scenes that included…
The Presidio is an artistic landscape of wilderness and historic military hallmarks taking on new dimensions. The one-time homes of Army Officers are now $4,000 a month rentals for young families looking for that classically simple lifestyle within the boundaries of the big city. And as the onslaught of entrepreneurs and technology workers converges on San…
The Presidio’s famed Montgomery Row is evolving into a vibrant neighborhood for business, tourists and locals alike. Buildings once occupied by soldiers serving during a span of conflicts – from the Spanish-American War to the Vietnam War – are gradually being prepped for a new era. Revamped to accommodate 2012 telecommunications and LEED standards, one…
Flash Mob paid tribute to Rhythm Nation this weekend with dancers donning black leather and powerful moves. The Castro was their encore destination in a day of street dance that stopped trains on the tracks. The ‘F’ line had to pause for the four minute performance much to the delight of passengers. Who are these impromptu…
Alfred Hitchcock made several movies with scenes in San Francisco — with lavish backdrops like the Flood Mansion in Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral, Mission Dolores, Union Square, Palace of the Legion of Honor and of course the Golden Gate Bridge. One of his most memorable films shot here is Vertigo, made in 1957. Starring James…
Touched and moved by Andrew Clancy’s A Year in New York, I set out to assemble my own video tribute to San Francisco. ‘We Don’t Eat’ by Irishman James Vincent McMorrow is a beautiful and awe-inspiring song. Using video I shot throughout the year, these images reflect the San Francisco I live and breathe every…
One of the best kept secrets in San Francisco is docked down at Pier 45. The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien‘s all-volunteer crew keeps this Landmark WWII Liberty Ship immaculate and seaworthy. Liberty Ships were a critical part of the war effort, transporting everything from trucks, food, medicine, weaponry and more to allied troops in Europe and…
The Castro Street Fair is an October tradition founded by Harvey Milk back in 1974 — and this year the theme was “The Happiest Place in San Francisco.” Brilliant and true — it was the cusp of the Castro, Duboce Circle, that was my first home in this rousing metropolis back in 2005. This is a…
The Highland Games is about more than hefting poles and tossing hammers. It is the brilliant backdrop for a co-creative dance of artists and musicians each moving to their own rhythm. I am always moved by artists who want you to appreciate their vision and inspire you to feel the vibration that feeds their soul. While…
Sunday Streets 2011 promises to be the longest season yet – with the street party offering up a double dose of entertainment in September. It’s not yet on the website calendar, but organizers say September 18th will be the big day for Chinatown/North Beach. There’s also a city-wide ping pong tournament about to be officially announced.…
It’s the kiss that’s lasted 66 years. In the words of the late Edith Shain who claimed to be the nurse at Broadway and 45th — the photo embodies “hope, love, peace and tomorrow”. A 6-foot statue of that iconic image is now on tour and inspired many an embrace during a visit to…
Donald Kinney uncovers the timeless splendor of this majestic body of water one ripple at a time. He has spent years studying Lagunitas Creek in West Marin from just about every angle — yet each time he returns, a new luminous pattern emerges right before his lens. Multiple elements have to align in order for Donald…
Postcards from SF 