Definitely no Rollerskating

Rules of the Dock, Angel Island SP, 2011.

Upon visiting Angel Island State Park via ferry, visitors are informed by this sign that rollerskating on this dock is prohibited. (No dogs either.) I am pretty sure this is the first time I've ever seen a "No Rollerskating" sign. I guess this has been a problem here. 


It makes me wonder where else rollerskating is such a problem.

It looks like a great place to set up an outdoor bowling alley, which I may attempt on my next visit -- it doesn't seem to be against the rules here.

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden "Ecstasy", Hayes Valley SF, 2011.

This amazing sculpture made of chains and other scrap metal stands about 25 feet tall in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. I feel compelled to call her the Iron Maiden, as a salute to the titans of metal, but the true name is Ecstasy by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito. The figure originally stood at Burning Man as part of a piece called Crude Awakening. Ecstasy joined seven other figures in various gestures of "worship, prostration, and exaltation" in response to the 99-foot oil derrick they surrounded. Wow.

It gets more intense. They burned the wooden derrick in a massive explosion set off by 400 gallons of jet fuel mixed with 300 gallons of gasoline. Collectively it all represents our dependence on oil... they've done the math, and the carbon consumption per person who viewed the display goes down, by their logic, each day, moment, that someone appreciates the piece. I'm not sure if I agree with all this justification, but it's right here.

Coincidentally, I met one of the artists who worked on this project earlier this evening at a gallery opening/open studio that photographer and long-time friend Toni Gentilli told me about.

This post dedicated to Jay and Aaron. I think you'd dig this sculpture (hair made of chains).

Gas for Sale, Sunset District, 2011.

I just like the way this sign looks. It's designed to be a highway-side beacon advertising gas to drivers by from either direction -- not a dramatically backlit beacon of gas prices. I have taken a few versions of this pic. I first got a picture on my camera phone. Sometimes I do this to remind myself to return somewhere with my real camera to get a real pic. Next, I took a picture on my Pentax Optio point and shoot -- and, that night, lost that camera (which I loved). I nervously let some time pass before finally capturing it with a film camera, the Nikon 8008s that is now my default. I was nervous because I was afraid this sign might disappear. Someone might realize it's using double the lights needed to illuminate it. Somehow, its glory would disappear. 

This concern is so irrational, isn't it? It's a sign. Why would it change? It's probably been here, like this, for years. I am interested to know what things have appealed to other people in this way. What mundane details of the world are special to you, that if they disappeared, you would especially miss? And I don't mean the Statue of Liberty or Half Dome -- I mean the mundane stuff. 

49-Mile Drive

49-Mile Drive Sign, The Presidio, 2010.

Raise your hand if you love this sign! If you're hand is up, keep it raised if you know what they mean. If not, read on. All may lower their hands now, and pat yourself on the back for already knowing the answer, if you did.

If you've lived here for more than a few months, chances are you're pretty familiar with this sign. It's all over the city. The charming gull design is by Rex May, who won a 1955 contest by the City. The 49-Mile Drive dates back to 1938, and was originally marked with a different sign, whose design I couldn't find.

I really like this design; it pleases the eye, and hence I enjoy seeing the signs. But what I find strange about these signs, when I encounter them, is that, first, they are spaced far enough apart that there's no continuity (probably due to theft). Second, there's no organization or online support materials (save for Wikipedia) that will give you an overview of the route and the things that you're supposed to see along it.*

Seeing this sign might just make you even more lost than you were.

The Bill Murray film Quick Change pays homage to these signs, or maybe to their lack of guidance. In this scene (cue to 8:45), the trio in the car has just robbed a Manhattan bank and desperately needs to get to Kennedy Airport.

By the way, keep watching, because one of the funniest things I have ever seen comes next, when they ask a silent and solemn stranger for assistance.

In case you can't find it, the next clip is here. If you keep watching, Phil Hartman appears! Then, all hands are raised. (Ahh, it's a dumb attempt at a riddle - you'll see what I mean.)

*However, there is a 2001 printed guidebook that is probably very helpful.

Green Roof

In one of my previous posts, I gave props to cities that are adding natural and artistic elements to their grey palettes. I didn't include the High Line in New York, which is only partially complete but already amazing. I am also not going to write about that today. But, some cities, as upon Chicago's City Hall, have encouraged the use of plants as roofing materials. Why? Many reasons -- insulation, cooling cities in the summer (plants photosynthesizing UV rays instead of the rays baking rooftops and adding to the urban heat island effect), rainwater utilization and flood prevention, keeping pollinators happy, keeping people happy, to name a few. It's all the rage these days in the sustainability world.

404 Washington Green Roof, San Francisco, 2010.

This is a green roof on a structure that was probably constructed in the late 1800s. Although people like me (ok, maybe just I alone) jest and say "Here at the the Presidio, we've been into the sustainability thing longer than anyone!", such is not really the case (Although we do have our own green building guidelines that precede the creation of LEED).The weeds on this roof are either just that: weeds on the roof of an abandoned building; or they were grown there to make the structure slightly less visible to bombers. I guess that is also a form of sustainability.

Another time I will talk about distractions, and how they dictate my days at times. I just went to do a tiny bit of research on when this structure would have been constructed. I noticed a misspelling on the NPS website; this led me to m-w.com to verify the error; m-w.com had a vocab quiz to take. The perfect match of my love for vocab and competition... it took me two tries, but I got 3660 points the second time. yesss...a worthy distraction.

Transplant, Don't Bury

Transplant, Don't Bury, Texas, 1997.

I think the bumpersticker on this probably relates to being an organ donor.

I like the idea of "transplanting" car parts rather than burying them. Of course, they usually get compacted and melted down as scrap metal, not buried, but you get the point.

This car was apparently bulldozed into a slope as a method of erosion control, somewhere in Texas. It may have had the double function of reinforcing the fence that it's next to. I don't remember exactly where I saw this, but it was adjacent to a tract of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I wish I'd taken a shot of the overall scene, but alas.

Coast Buckwheat

Coast Buckwheat, Crissy Field, 2010.

Coast buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium) is a crucial plant for many butterfly species. It's a member of the knotweed family. Butterflies in the Lycaenidae family, which includes the Acmon blue and green hairstreak (both residents of the Presidio of SF), rely on two plant familes: knotweed and pea. The relationship between these two plant families is not totally understood, but the formula works. 

There's satisfaction in learning about nature, but even more in learning about mysteries that still exist today.

Intersection

Choose wisely, motorist; someone worked hard on this sign.

Options, San Francisco, 2011.

Whatever you do, do not block the intersection while trying to figure out the sign. 

I have always liked these. I just took another picture of one today. I'll add it when I develop the roll. Here's one I took in Milwaukee (Canon Rebel) in about 2002. 

Clybourn Options, Milwaukee, circa 2002.

Beauty in Dark Corners

59th Street/Lexington Subway Stop, New York, 2010.

Subway art.

Subway music (watch).

Subway music (listen).

City art. 

City life.

In art is life.

Color in a sometimes bleak and lonely place.

In life is art.

59th Street/Lexington Subway Stop, New York, 2010.

Thank you, to some cities, for appreciating the human need for beauty.

These photos are part of a mural entitled "Blooming" by Elizabeth Murray. More here.


P.S. I changed the template back to its simpler design today... I think it was a bit too busy...

Survey Says?

Community Voting, Atlanta, 2011.

I saw this outside of a gas station in Atlanta back in June. I was in town to visit Scott while stopping through town on the way to Poultry Days. Since I was flying AirTran from SFO to Dayton, I figured, why not make the layover 30 hours instead of 3?

I hadn't ever been in Atlanta except for the airport. It was a great visit. The aforementioned Whole Foods visit may have been a bit disheartening, but I did see aspects of the city that made it feel alive with the right kind of life -- positive, creative, harmonious. I did have a few experiences that led me to think that things are still very racially divided down there. But there has to be hope, and this telephone pole, of all things, created some for me.

Not only do I like this system of community organization, I like the outcome of the vote. And I like that it wasn't defaced by the time I saw it. If six "yes" tabs and one "no" tab were already pulled, it had already been seen by how many -- at least 50 passersby by this time, right? I wonder if this would work in SF or Chicago. I also wonder what the greater purpose of this is, but I hope that it is leading to political organization, and, ultimately, a community garden here. 

This was standing within about a mile of the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, an old-school farmers market that would seemingly supply the needs of this locale with all the produce they may need. The market supplied me with an amazing cup of organic coffee and four even more amazing peaches.