If you’ve ever enjoyed even a little bit of Joseph Conrad, Patrick O’Brian, Moby Dick, or Pirates of the Caribbean, you really should get down to Pier 30/32 in San Francisco during the next few days to check out the tall ships that are now tied up there. Or, at the very least, be sure to savor the view of them as you drive across the Bay Bridge.
Yesterday the Coast Guard gave me tour of the USCG Eagle, a steel-hulled, three-mast ship that was originally built by the Nazis in 1936. After World War II, the ship was seized as a war prize by the U.S. military. Once in American hands, it was handed over to the Coast Guard for use as a training vessel, and it’s been in use at the Coast Guard Academy ever since.
I happened to be there a few hours after yesterdays Parade of Sail, just as the cadets were lowering the Eagle’s sails, and it was an acrobatic spectacle. There are no “Retract Sail” buttons to push; instead, dozens of cadets climb 100 feet up the masts to lower the sails by hand. It was nerve-wracking to watch even while we were tied up at Pier 30 on a calm and sunny day in San Francisco, but the thought of trying to do all that on a stormy sea made me shiver me timbers.
Check out the USCG Eagle if you can. (If you can’t, I took a lot of photos.) The Eagle and the HMS Bounty are open for tours at Pier 30/32 on Friday (today), Saturday, and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
On Wedensday, July 23 at noon (that’s tomorrow!), a parade of 32 tall ships will pass under the Golden Gate Bridge as part of the San Francisco Festival of Sail, an event produced by the San Francisco Maritime Park Association. Special guest stars will include the USCG Eagle, a spectacular, three-mast Coast Guard training ship, and the HMS Bounty, which was built in 1960 to star in Mutiny on the Bounty, a movie about the famous British crew who overthrew Captain Bligh in order to remain in the Islands of the Pacific. (Arrrrrrrrrrr!) Prime viewing spots will include the span of the Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field, Fort Mason, and the Embarcadero, as the ships parade from the GGB all the way to the Bay Bridge. Lots more detail via the link below.
Forget American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, the new contest that matters is between small teams taking on the challenge to write, shoot and produce a short film within a 2-day period in The 48 Hour Film Project 2008. Contests are going on around the country with an eventual world champion to be crowned later this year.
Come see this landmark West Coast exhibition featuring the work of 10 of the greatest contemporary collodion artists to ever coat a plate. Both ambrotypes (one-of-a-kind images made on glass) and ferrotypes, or tintypes (one-of-a-kind images made on thin metal plates) will be exhibited. The photographers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and pursue a wide range of subject matter, but they are united in their choice of process and their passion for this technique that renders some of the most exquisite photographs ever seen.
The exhibition includes work from John A. Coffer, the “traveling wetplate artist” who spent seven years wandering through North America in a horse and carriage, working as an old-time portrait photographer.
In 1978, John Coffer hitched a bay workhorse named Brownie up to a 19th century style darkroom wagon dubbed the “Photographic Van” and criss-crossed the continent for seven years, plying his trade as an old time traveling portrait photographer. This was an experience as unique as the many tintypes he made and sold along the way. In 1985, after more than 11,000 wagon miles and having passed through 36 different states, John and his horse, Brownie, settled down on their own 50-acre farm in the heart of the beautiful Finger Lakes country of up-state New York. John lives in a one-room cabin that he built himself. He lives off the land and has no phone, no electricity, no automobile, and no running water. There, Coffer photographs the livestock, the farm implements, and the annual cycles of nature.
“Into the Ether” will be on display through August 28. RayKo is open Tuesday-Thursday from 10am to 10pm, and Friday-Sunday from 10am to 8pm. Gallery admission is free.
Officials at the Department of Elections announced today that the citizens’ initiative to rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant has qualified for the November 4th San Francisco ballot. Voters will decide on the measure in the general election alongside the presidential election, numerous statewide initiatives, and an expected 20 to 30 local measures.
“We want to thank the dozens of people who volunteered to campaign throughout the city, and the thousands of San Franciscans who lined up to sign this petition to pay tribute to our President,” said initiative co-author Brian McConnell. “With over 100 volunteers, we were able to run a citywide campaign with no donations, no paid signature gatherers - it was a 100% grassroots voter movement.”
The Presidential Memorial Commission is planning a creative, art-driven general election campaign, and is putting out a general call for support from artists who want to design flyers, billboards and other attention-getting devices. “We’re hoping for an election campaign like no other,” said Mr. McConnell.
While the measure is only being presented to San Francisco voters, voters worldwide can contribute to the general election campaign by donating artwork and funds at www.presidentialmemorial.org
posted by Scott Beale on Thursday, July 17th, 2008
The organizers of ROFLCon, the wonderful conference on internet memes that took place at MIT in April (here are my ROFLCon photos), have been busy planning a series of smaller summer events around the US. On Friday, August 29th they will be hosting the mini-con ROFLThing at Mighty in San Francisco.
I recently met a city employee who was painting San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic logos and “Tow Away” markings on curbs around the Mission. These are the very stencils used to create the curb markings that generate so much pain and anxiety for San Francisco motorists. It also occurred to me that from a revenue perspective, the return-on-investment from a DPT stencil must be huge, given how many expensive parking tickets each one generates. Just the sight of them made my blood pressure rise.
Bay Area startups Xoopit, Zivity, and Powerset are organizing a private premiere screening of the new Batman film The Dark Knight on the day before it opens at 6pm this Thursday, July 17th at Metreon in San Francisco. They are offering 20 free tickets to Laughing Squid readers on a first come, first served basis.UPDATE: All of the free tickets have been given away.
They are also hosting an after party at DNA Lounge from 9:30-2:00am. If you are interested in a free pass to the after party, email batmanevent@gmail.com.
San Francisco Zine Fest 2008, an annual two-day free conference for independent and underground publishing, takes place July 19th and 20th at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. This year’s event features over 60 small press exhibitors and a several great workshops and panels.
The San Francisco Zine Fest will be back for our seventh annual celebration of small press, zines, comics, and all things DIY in an even bigger and better new location: The San Francisco County Fair Building, in Golden Gate Park. As always, the Zine Fest is free and open to the public! Over 60 small-press and DIY creators will be selling, trading, and otherwise sharing their work with over a thousand attendees.
The Zine Fest serves as a vital annual showcase of the diversity, vitality, and ongoing exuberance of the small-press movement. The exhibitors range from established small-press publishing houses including RE/Search Publications, Manic D Press, Sparkplug Comics, and Tugboat Press to first time self-publishers and creators. Writers, cartoonists, crafters, illustrators, printmakers, and all manner of artists will be in attendance. While the majority of the exhibitors hail from the Bay Area, creators from across the West Coast and beyond will be represented.
posted by Scott Beale on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
On Thursday, August 7th I’ll be headed to The Start Conference, a one-day conference organized by web veterans Jeff Veen and Bryan Mason for entrepreneurs looking to start their own companies. The event takes place at Fort Mason’s Cowell Theater in San Francisco and features a full day of great speakers with a wide range of startup experience. Space is limited, so regsiter soon if you plan on attending.
Start is a one-day conference in San Francisco designed for smart, talented Web people to take hold of their ideas, follow their dreams, and start their own companies.
You’ll hear from founders of successful startups, and learn from investors, lawyers, and others who can outline potential pitfalls. They’ll give you practical advice, tell their horror stories, and maybe lend you a little inspiration. If you’ve ever dreamt of taking the plunge, don’t miss this chance to hear from the experts!
The Long Now Foundation presents Mechanicrawl, an exploration of mechanical marvels which takes place this Saturday, July 12th in San Francisco.
Here a video of The Long Now Foundation’s Alexander Rose introducing Mechanicrawl.
This Saturday a very special event in San Francisco ties together several of SF’s most storied attractions, all of which have a mechanical bent. These metal gears and pistons beget unimaginable wonders–touching the fantastic by way of the practical. It’s an event not to be missed.
Mechanicrawl offers a chance to experience the treasures of San Francisco in a unique way. There will be special access and demonstrations during the event that are not standard at these attractions, emphasizing the details of particular mechanical features. There’s a good chance that some other mechancial and steampunk wonders will materialize in the vicinity. It’s not at all a bad idea to wear your mechano-Victorian best.
Tickets are on sale now. Members of the organizations can get in for free (contact your organization for details).
Featured machines range from games at the Musée Mécanique that are over a century old to The Long Now Foundation’s most recent creation the “Walking Bearing” which was completed this year. The Jeremiah O’Brien made history as part of the D-Day invasion, while The Exploratorium insures our future by educating and delighting children (of all ages) with the wonders of science.
The Mechanicrawl website helpfully assists you in planning your route whether by bike, bus, on foot, or even (ewww!) by car. There are also suggestions for food & drink along the route. There will also be Twitter updates about event the day of; you can follow Long Now to get them.
A few more details about some of the attractions:
USS Pampanito
The mechanical computer, known as a Torpedo Data Computer, on the USS Pampanito is an early electromechanical analog computer that was incredibly compact for its time in order to fit on a submarine. It has been rebuilt to working order and will be demonstrated through the day.
The Jeremiah O’Brien
The Jeremiah O’Brien’s 3-story tall steam engine (shown above) will be running throughout the event. The ship, which stormed the beaches of Normandy, is celebrating it’s 65th anniversary and is one of only two seaworthy Liberty Ships in existence. Mechanicrawl-goers will be able to go into her engine room and see the engine going at full blast. I recently rode on board the O’Brien–you can see my pix and video.
The Long Now Foundation
Organizers of the event, The Long Now Foundation are located in Fort Mason and are dedicated to fostering long-term thinking and responsibility. As part of this mission they are building a clock to last for 10,000 years. This incredible mechanical wonder is being designed with millenia in mind and will do much more than keep time, including detailing the relative positiion of planets in our solar system. There is a lot of mechanical goodness to see up close at their Museum and Store.
RCF has gained a reputation over the last five years as being the biggest, best and the most well-known of all the DIY craft fairs out there. Each individual fair draws hundreds of applicants and tens of thousands of shoppers from all over the country and abroad! At the RCF you’ll find all sorts of cool handmade stuff ranging from comic books to craft kits, silkscreened posters to reconstructed clothing.
The term “Nerdcore” refers to both a sub-genre of hip-hop music that is created by self-professed nerds and to the subculture that has grown out of that style of music.
Nerdcore For Life! profiles the fascinating and tumultuous world of Nerdcore Hip-Hop. Born on the internet, “Nerd rap” is breaking out into the real world at a lightning pace. Our cameras follow the top names in this new genre as they celebrate Geek Life to the fullest and deal with the common obstacles that block musicians of all genres from fulfilling their dreams.
What if a small town found itself at the forefront of a political fight? It’s Election Day in small town America, and that’s what happens when, due to an Electoral College tie, the entire Presidential Election comes down to the one tiny town. Suddenly, the ignored, disregarded Bluebird, Kansas is the most important town in America. And they are being pressured to quickly cast the deciding vote, and vote the “right way.”
But what would happen if they decided to wait? Can one little town hold an entire nation’s election hostage? Should it? Is bread on the farm house dinner table tonight more important than deciding who sits at the Oval Office desk tomorrow? Yep, this election could take a while . . .
I am not sure how many years SFMT has done their season-opening show on the Fourth of July at Dolores Park in San Francisco, but it’s a lotta them. As always the show is free, the music starts at 1:30 and the show at 2pm. They will ask for donations after the show, so give generously if you can.
You should get there early and bring a blanket, if you want a good seat. A picnic and a bottle of wine or three is not a bad idea either. If you miss the Friday the Fourth show, they will be doing it again on Saturday & Sunday at the same place and time. And after that they start performing the show several days a week all around SF and the greater Bay Area: see the full schedule.
The Mime Troupe, in case you weren’t aware, is not a group of white-faced silent-types, but a politically-explicit and musically-enabled company, or rather collective, that has existed since the early-60s and won 3 Obie awards. Their early performances were mostly in the Commedia dell’Arte form and included a production of Ubu Roi scored by a young Steve Reich.
Without the Mime Troupe, Bill Graham would probably never have become a music promoter.
Many other well-known names are alumnae of the group. Luis Valdez, a young college grad, spent a few months with SFMT then left to found El Teatro Campesino which was the cultural arm of the United Farm Workers in the mid-60’s. Peter Coyote was an actor, writer and director for SFMT in the 60’s.
We, the brave warriors of the Noble Cardboard Tube Fighting League, hereby announce a battle of epic proportions to be held on Sunday, July the 6th, at the 4th hour of the afternoon. At this time our clan will host a gathering upon the meadows of Dolores Park, in which our strongest warriors shall defend the honor and purity of the Tube Dueling League with a great show of cardboard might and prowess the likes of which have never been seen. Prize goes to best cardboard costume.
What: Cardboard Tube Fighting League Battle and Children’s Tournament
Where: Dolores Park
When: Sunday, July 6th, 2008 at 4pm
Entry Fee: Free, tubes provided.
What to bring: Water, cardboard armor, costumes are highly encouraged. Prizes awarded for best cardboard costume. Tubes will be supplied.
What to expect: Welts and possibly bruises.It is recommended that only children above the age of 5 participate. Prize goes to best cardboard costume!
The Animation Show is back with an all new collection of incredible independent animation! This year Mike Judge has gathered together over two dozen of his favorite funny short films from around the world. It’s a ground breaking program of eye-popping adult animation from tomorrow’s next great animators. This isn’t a dirty “adults only” animation show but the program does skew towards a mature audience with some explicit language and adult subject matter.
Paul’s work typically involves sheets of paper in mass quantities (thousands) crumple-formed into elemental shapes then suspended from thin wire in an open room. So a swarm of paper airplane corpses takes over, massing into something like an alien-organic body. Tiny movements persist at the slightest breeze, so the “body” is also always alive throughout. Paul has put up his art in empty storefronts, in warehouses, and in galleries.
This evening Paul gave a great informal talk about the new piece which is called “Drawing from Another Dimension” to a small crowd gathered outside the SFAC’s Window Site gallery. I shot some short videos and a few pix of the talk.
The piece is up through July 5. It’s a single large installation, positioned in the gallery window on Grove street near the corner of Van Ness (in Civic Center, right across Grove from City Hall). Here’s a map. The good news is you can walk by the window any hour of the day, no gallery hours to worry about. It really looks magical at night.
Paul’s installation work has been steadily growing in reputation over the last few years. His most seen piece is undoubtedly The Thing About Accumulation which was up for over a year at The Exploratorium. He had a piece up at the late Canvas Gallery for a long time, and more recently at Johansson Projects in Oakland (props to my pal Anneke for the cool Flickr sets of those pieces).
Here’s Paul’s flickr-stream for a look at both his installations and other art work.
Pownce is having their 1 Year Anniversary Party this Friday, June 27th at the Justin.tv headquarters in San Francisco. If you plan on going, you need to RSVP in advance and you should show up early if you want to make sure that you can get in.
The new documentary “Dust And Illusions” by Olivier Bonin, featuring an in-depth look a the history of Burning Man, is having a special preview screening at CELLspace in San Francisco this Saturday, June 28th. The event is a benefit for The Flaming Lotus Girls to help them raise money for their Burning Man 2008 fire-art project Mutopia.
Once a year, on a vast Nevada lake bed surrounded by mountains, the Burning Man festival brings together tens of thousands of people who are attracted by the festival’s promise of seven days of “decommodification,” “community,” “artwork,” and “revelry.” But increasingly, many question whether Burning Man’s mainstream appeal threatens—or even upends—the festival’s utopian vision. Through a series of in-depth interviews of the festival’s founders, organizers, and participants, DUST AND ILLUSIONS traces the festival’s history, while examining whether the festival is a victim of its own success.
