Frisco Vista

Can anyone recommend a good host? I have had too much down time on my sites lately — which wouldn’t be the end of the world except the host’s communication has also been extremely poor — and much as I hate relocating my sites I might be forced to move.

BTW, I hope to get caught up and back to regular blogging this weekend.

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Back in the 1990s I ran a publishing company called Mercury House. One of the free-lance copy editors and proofreaders who worked on many of our books was Hazel White. I always admired her judgment and balance. Since that time she edited an edition of the Sunset Garden Book and wrote several books for Chronicle Books, as well, no doubt, as working on many other excellent projects. Now her picture will appear around town as part of a campaign to end racism. The reasons for this are explained at SFMOMA:Open Space. Bravo Hazel!

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This photo shows visitors exiting the Planetarium at the recently opened Academy of Science building in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The building was designed by Renzo Piano. I’ll be running some more photos from this building over the next few days as I try to get caught up on my blogging.

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This newsreel footage documents 1967 antiwar in San Francisco and elsewhere.

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If you have ever biked in San Francisco and hit a streetcar track you will appreciate this t-shirt.

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In April we filled in our swimming pool and turned it into a garden. This is what the garden looks like at the beginning of August.

We don’t live in one of the warm inland parts of the East Bay, but we have nonetheless managed to harvest tomatos, peppers, eggplant, and more.

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Virtual travels in NoCal

• SFWATER.ORG : GoSolarSF Program Description : City residents are eligble for $3000-6000 credits for installing solar panels
• Why San Francisco is no. 1 : For young professionals, according to Forbes
• Mexican Museum plan resurrected : Si, se puede
• SF’s New Museum of Performance & Design : Seriously?
• San Francisco Views from Golden Gate Heights : A flickr set
• Kenneth Baker responds to critics : Chez NamasteNancy

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This photo was taken in 1949 by San Francisco Chronicle photographer Barney Peterson. It was discovered by the Sparkletack blogger Richard Miller’s aunt among his grandfather’s archives. The photo is copyright the Chronicle, but I hope they won’t mind my posting this small version; the image links to the Sparkletack post.

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Two hoopsters with Bay Area ties — Baron Davis and Steve Nash — appear in this spoof of the movie Step Brothers. Nash outshines Diddy in this one.

It’s all too easy sometimes to get down on the Bay Area. But then you come upon information like this.

San Francisco recycles 69 percent of its total waste. Okay, for comparison, what percentage does Houston recycle?

a. 2.6 percent
b. 18.6 percent
c. 26.6 percent
d. 44.6 percent

And a bonus question:

25,000 Houston residents have been waiting as long as _____ to get recycling bins from the city.

Answers after the jump.

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This photo of a view from Mt. Diablo in the East Bay comes from zevek’s photostream.

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More than one hundred examples of work by San Francisco artist Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch will be on sale at Tiny showcase at 7:30 EST, July 15. Via San Francisco Art & Design Lover.

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This week we’ve seen images of Market Street, Gough Street, Lombard Street, and Fell Street, all located in the same U.S. city. Which city? The answer is revealed after the jump

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Okay, over the past few posts we’ve seen Market Street, Lombard Street, Gough Street, and now Fell Street. What’s this city?

Here’s a bonus clue: The city we’ve been looking at features a Holocaust Memorial, located across from the U.S. Custom House on Gay Street.

Answer in next post.

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We’ve seen Market Street, Gough Street, and now Lombard Street. Where are we?

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Continuing the series started with the previous post. Where do we find this Gough Street?

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Okay, a lot of cities have Market Streets. Stay tuned for a better clue . . .

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Linking fourth . . .

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” — Benjamin Franklin

• San Francisco Mission district murals : Ay candela!
• Portuguese influence on San Leandro : Bem-vindo
• China tourism to the city could double : ??
• Free San Francisco walking tours : Can’t be beat
• San Francisco webcams : We like to watch
• Interactive map of California fires and California air quality conditions and forecasts : Enough already
• Polk Street restaurants heat check : Where’s the action?
• SF tops for honeymoons : Or so this person says
• 10 Most Literate Cities in America : Are we really less literate than Pittsburgh?

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photo from tinou bao’s photostream

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What do these folks — Randy Newman, Dave Brubeck, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, and Arturo Sandoval — have in common? They are all part of the lineup for the 26th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival. The festival runs from October 3 through November 9, and tickets go on Sale July 13.

Okay, Miles Davis won’t be there (maybe in spirit; that’s one of my Illustrator artworks over at the right). But Miles from India will.

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We stopped in a Lukas taproom and lounge in Oakland on a recent weekend afternoon. It’s not a bad time to visit — it wasn’t too crowded. In the afternoon, you order from the bar. If you get the seafood platte (photo via Pieces & Bits) it comes on ice. But really the frites are all you need with a good Belgian beer.

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Virtual NoCal

• Photo Tour of a San Francisco Tugboat
• Concrete Art
• Berkeley International Food Festival
• California fires map
• Guerrilla gardening in San Francisco
• BART likes Europeans

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Taqueria Castillo is a little hole in the wall place near where I work in Civic Center. As you can see from the sign, this is Taqueria Castillo B — there is another branch on Golden Gate, and maybe more.

The decor isn’t much, I guess — and neither is the location, on McAllister near 7th, for that matter. I would say about 90 percent of the people who eat there or get food for take-out order burritos.

But a good value on the menu is the huevos con chorizo. For around six dollars you get beans of choice, rice, eggs with chorizo, salsa, a salad (with avocado), and jalapenos and other options, along with a basket of steaming hot corn tortillas.

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