Thursday, June 30, 2011

Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

Dan Hicks played in one of San Francisco's premier psychedelic ballroom bands The Charlatans but when they broke up he went in a kind of different direction with Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks.  The band's 1969 "Original Recordings" includes classics like "I Scare Myself" and "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away."  Here is a fun foot-tappin 1972 performance of "Milk Shakin' Mama"...

Thursday, June 23, 2011

eat your greens

Greens Restaurant, located in a converted warehouse at Fort Mason, was started up in 1979 by students of the San Francisco Zen Center.  They grow their own organic herbs and vegetables at Green Gulch Farm north of the city in Marin county.  The restaurant was instrumental in changing the stereotype of vegetarian cuisine from "boring brown rice 'n lentils" to something fresher, brighter and more flavourful. I went to their take-out counter Greens to Go and got this delicious sandwich and salad for less than ten bucks


and enjoyed it on a bench by the water overlooking the hazy hills of Marin with this little guy as my dining companion.

Monday, June 20, 2011

murals in the mission

detail of mural at 24th & Capp by HOMEY (Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth)


In the Mission there are hundreds of murals within a 30 block radius, the highest concentration of any neighbourhood in the world.  Love, war, worker's rights, nature, music, spirituality, comix, community, surrealism, social justice, politics, portraits..... the streets and alleys are a living breathing gallery, changing, evolving, inspiring.  Cities should be encouraging this kind of thing, not trying to stamp it out!

Below are three details of the Culture of the Crossroads mural by Precita Eyes artists on the McDonald's at 24th and Mission:




Wouldn't you rather have your local McDonald's look like that instead of anonymous and could-be-anywhere?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

chinese laundry

in the alleyways of Chinatown, laundry flutters from the balconies, the fire escapes, the windows...





Saturday, June 11, 2011

The Upsetter

Last month I saw the San Francisco premiere of The Upsetter at the Red Vic on Haight Street.  What better way to spend an evening:  a stroll through the leafy green Panhandle, browse a bit at Amoeba and Booksmith, walk a few doors down to the Red Vic, settle into a comfortable seat, sip mint tea while listening to Lee Perry, some good pizza afterwards...

You can watch the trailer below

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

cards

card players congregate in Portsmouth Square in the morning, huddled around makeshift cardboard tables on park benches...