Tag: videos

  • The Last Bookstore’s upstairs labyrinth

    On my last trip to LA I just sort of stumbled across The Last Bookstore, a large bookstore selling new, used, antique, and rare books and comic books as well as vinyl records. Both times I wandered in I was a little distracted by well-attended events they were holding in the store with authors and…

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  • A ride on San Francisco’s boat tram

    On Wednesday I mistakenly clicked on bookmark to streetcar.live, an online map displaying the current locations of each of San Francisco’s historic streetcars that are currently running. Before I had a chance to close the tab, I noticed something unusual: one of the Blackpool “boat trams” was running! I decided to take a long lunch…

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  • Gondola ride to Salesforce Park

    The term “gondola” can mean many different things. The first that comes to my mind are the boats in Venice, but here I’m talking about a different form of transportation: a gondola lift. This gondola in particular takes visitors up from ground level to Salesforce Park on the top of the freshly re-opened Salesforce Transit…

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  • South Beach security droid

    Recently housing/retail complex The Beacon, located by the 4th and King Caltrain terminal and the Giant’s ballpark, added a roaming security droid on the sidewalk surrounding the building. These are increasingly common in shopping malls, but on public sidewalks? Is that even allowed? The first time I saw this particular droid was outside the Taco…

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  • Moscone Center skyway lights

    With the Moscone Center rebuild (mostly) complete, one element particularly stands out after dark. Every time I walk by at night I see people snapping photos of the light display in the glass-walled skyway between Moscone North and South. I was pretty surprised when the contractors began construction on the skyway — why would a…

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  • Remembering the “clap-along” at Century Theaters

    If you watch movies in the Bay Area (or anywhere in the western part of the US, really) there’s a good chance you’ve been to Century Theaters. Formerly known as Syufy Theaters, Century typically operated multi-screen cineplexes in out of the way locations. Around the year 2000 or so the chain began pivoting away from…

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  • Windmill spins at Golden Gate Park

    Yesterday I went on the SF City Guides Golden Gate Park: West End tour. Among other points of interest the tour stops at the park’s two windmills — the Dutch Windmill to at the northwestern corner of the park, and the Murphy Windmill a block or two south. Most of the time the windmills are…

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  • How I got mentioned in an art history dissertation

    It’s been brought to my attention that yours truly is mentioned in a master’s dissertation — and even cited as a source. On the surface this seems surprising since I hold a master’s in computer science. I’ve never written a serious academic paper on art, let alone history. But as you’ll soon see it’s not…

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  • Carnaval Parade: Stoic Cop

    Yesterday at San Francisco’s 2018 Carnaval Parade a number of dancers for whatever reason decided to target a particular SFPD officer with their dance moves, crowding him and grinding against him. He barely reacted — a truly stoic cop if there ever was one. As you can see in the video I was hardly the…

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  • Carnaval San Francisco 2018 parade

    For a bunch more photos check out my Carnaval 2018 album here.  Today was the grand parade of Carnaval San Francisco, the Mission District’s biggest parade and cultural event. It was billed as the 40th Anniversary, which isn’t exactly true… but forget it. Sometimes you just have to put down your calculator, pick up a…

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