Mission Beach

Pre-Summer Sunday in Dolores Park from Spots Unknown on Vimeo.

I randomly came across this video tonight, and I thought they did a really lovely job on it. One of my favorite things about living here is that there are more parks than one can shake a stick at. I do love Dolores because, like my fav dive bar, I can show up anytime and most likely my friends will be there. And if I am not in the mood to be social there's a slew of other parks in SF, about 45.

Spots Unknown "Discovering the forgotten places, events, and histories of San Francisco."

I like what they're doing.

Wino? Why yes...

San Francisco based Dribblenaut.com is a brand new webzine that talks about pairing wines with food, film, music and literature. It's a genius idea, actually. If you have ever hosted a dinner party, movie night or book club then you know how hard it can be to decide what to serve.

"We bring you a different way to grow your palette for wine and culture. Instead of skimming the top of the subject, we invite you to scrape the underbelly with us, and dig in deep. Stay young -- and fuck the bourgeois." -Dribblenaut

Pink and Proud!

Well, Pride Weekend has come and gone again. It was a beautiful, sunny couple of days here in SF. Top photo is a man who wins best beard of the year award (in my book) he was participating in the Bicycle Contingent and below are two total cutie pies and their poster made me tear up so I had to post it. Yay Gays!
Photos by Donald Kinney

Honey, I shrunk the Mission..

These tiny installations have been popping up in the mission over the past couple of months. I heard one showed up in Noe Valley as well. These were found in Albion alley sharing a wall the Kilowatt. I have no idea who is behind this but it is rumored a collective named "Elsewhere Public Works Agency" has been installing these mini doors, walls, widows and water meters all over the city for the past year. I tried to look them up and found some very um... strange... things..

Photos by 'What I'm Seeing'

AJ Fosik

"There's Aliens in Our Midst" by AJ Fosik is currently at WhiteWalls in SanFrancisco's tenderloin district. Each of these pieces are made with with 3 simple materials: wood, nails, and paint. Show runs through July 4th, get out and see it while you can.

White Walls Gallery
835 Larkin St, San Francisco 94109
415-931-1500 www.whitewallssf.com
Hours: Tues-Sat, 12pm-7pm

BART art.

Whoever said public transportation is a drag isn't doing it right. April 27th, 2009 a group (?) of rad bandits hung 3 swings in a northbound BART train and took off. I don't know who is behind this but I love! The swings seemed to be quite popular with BART patrons too. I found more photos on flickr.

art for correspodence

Yellow Owl Workshop fashions a line of playful, limited edition paper goods including cards, invitations, paintings, prints, stamps, journals, wrapping paper and more. Green minded paperie pair Evan and Christine, operate by using non toxic water based inks on 100% recycled materials. Everything is hand made with love and based in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood. 

Irish Sundays

The Buena Vista on Hyde St in San Francisco is famous for serving the first Irish Coffee in America. BV sells 2,000 of these little babies on average everyday.

My heart belongs to Velo Rouge...

After my break up with Intelligentsia last year, I feared I would never love again. Unlike some of the painfully "hip" coffee shops/cafe's in the mission- this one feels like a real neighborhood noshery. Located on Arguello and McAllister, Velo Rouge is just a a stone's throw away from Golden Gate Park in SF.

Velo Rouge top 5
5. Bike parking- makes life that much easier.
4. Mt. Ventoux- yummiest hangover croissant-which in all the land.
3. Outdoor seating- exciting because it is, unfortunately, rare in SF.
2. Perhaps the friendliest staff I've encountered- they know my name and say hello.
1. Blue Bottle Espresso and Coffee!
*photo courtesy of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition*

Little Shop of Horrors.

Feed me Seymour! I recently visited the Conservatory of Flowers here in SF and came across these carnivorous beauties. The name Nepenthes was given by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in reference to a passage in Homer's Odyssey. "Nepenthe" literally means "without grief" and, in Greek Mythology, is a drug that quells all sorrows with forgetfulness. So, this is how the plant eats- The pitcher shaped cups are filled with a liquid that attracts insects with the odor of nectar. Because of a slippery wax on the interior walls, the insect can not hold on and ultimately falls into the muck. The motion caused by the struggle stimulates digestive glands to release an acid. This goo can dissolve a fly in just a few hours. Ew, kind of.