My vote for cutest tasting room so far...

This old teeny brick building was the old Rutherford Post Office. Some fantastic Sav Blanc, Pinot, Syrah and Cab too!

Napa!

The famous Mondavi fountain. This was my first Napa stop, not to taste mind you, that was Neal Family Vineyards, but I needed to stop by Mondavi, and take a photo.
Now, a story:
It seems some wine "professional" friends of mine went on a trip to Napa. Somewhere along their tour, they picked up two lovely young ladies. By the time they had finished their last stop, tasting and dinner at Mondavi, Waaaaaaaayyyyy after hours, they decided it'd only be fitting to strip down nekkers and go for a dip in the fountain. As local lore would have it, they received a manilla envelope in the mail containing only two items, and no note: A VHS tape of the security footage of them jumping in the fountain, and a copy of the company handbook.

Painted on rusted steel.

No extra info. I liked it, that's all.

The hidden Turrell

So I got this map from a gallery that listed the museums, galleries, and even current pieces on public view. (Yes, there's a Serra I haven't checked out yet. Thank you for your sarcasm) The Turrell is listed as in an underground tunnel, but nobody seemed to have heard of it. Of course, I loved the idea of a puzzle and searched all over for it, in the subway underpasses, underground parking garages, nearby hotels. This was what appeared to be the closest it could be. I notice what seemed to be light banks up by some of the more discolored lights. Was it a nod to Flavin? Did it enact at random moments? No, no, and no. Right spot, wrong time. It hasn't been installed yet. SUCKA!

More unintentional art

This was, I think, a planter.

Desmoiselle de la Mission

On my way out to the Elbo Room, I'd walked by an almost empty lot, where this lady was coming out from behind a truck. I circled around two minutes later and asked if I could take her picture. She happily complied.

Carnaval Bird

Walking back from Carnaval, I saw a big billboard ad that had been covered in spraypaint and was peeling apart. I took a small piece of the curling paper and then collected some feathers fallen from dancers, and other various stuff. I wanted to make Mikayla and Oliver something as a thank you for putting me up, but I didn't know what it was going to be. They looked at me sideways when I came in with this pile of crap and set it on their coffee table. I woke up in the middle of the night, took the stuff to my room and realized, the paper was a bird. With almost no manipulation except for a small fold at the beak, it began to take form. The green and purple feathers matched almost exactly with the green and purple spraypaint. I needed some red for the third feather and found other pieces to work with that. Then I incorporated English, Chinese, and Spanish for the bird to nobly be surrounded by. I had to experiment with a few local tree branches to find the right kind that would hold up over time. I hope this one does,I really like this bird.

Checking out the town on Memorial Day

So, after Oliver and Mikayla's party, I decided I wanted to go out and check out the Mission. Mikayla and Oliver have those pesky job things so I was all on my own. I meant to go to some place they told me about called the Elbo room, but it was dead, so I found a pretty cool lesbian bar around the corner, and hung out there instead. I've found Lesbian bars to be some pretty tricky places. You've just got to take it as a given that as a man, you probably won't be very well received. Like that one time at Hogs and Heffers when I almost got punched out by a huge young woman who was less than enthused that I used the ladies room. But it was an honest mistake and in my defense, the bathrooms in that joint are pretty poorly marked and the lighting is really dim.
Anyhow, here at this place, I met a couple of lovely girls, and once they found out I was from Brooklyn, and had even lived there before it had it's own clothing line, I was introduced all around and even bought some beers.
The girl in the photo was even a Packer girl (the high school my sister went too)! The guy in the Camo was trying to convince her he was a professional photographer and was posing her all over and on the pinball machine and everything. I wasn't quite convinced about that, his point and shoot camera raised some doubts in my mind, but whatever, who am I to judge? Besides, as the only other guy in the bar, I wasn't about to start calling him out.

Love and Politics, or, why threes don't work for the ladies...

This one was great. It started as a typical, closing time, two girls maneuvering after a third, discussion. I'll take her home, no, you wait here, blah, blah, blah. Exactly the kind of thing I knew I needed to document. The cool part is how the whole situation swung out into a confrontation but then came back together into an almost group discussion. What you miss from these little snippets, is where became a discussion of whether one of the girls was in fact a guy, and then moved and what it was to be a woman and other gender politics.

Guitars, and other general craziness.

What I like best about this, is the slow recognition on this girl's face as she realizes she's been videotaped. But she was a good sport about it, and even sang me a song


.

Party at Mikayla's

So Mikayla and Oliver threw a party in my honor. Okay, maybe it wasn't really in my honor, but it was for my benefit. Okay, maybe it had nothing to do with me, but I was there...
Anyhow check out the guy in the clever camouflage, if it weren't for that white door, he'd be invisible.

I don't know who Josh and Tex are, but what a great place to write your number...

It's enough to make me wish my name was Tex. Hell from now on my alias will be Tex, no more of this Rudolf Schmidt.

Is there anything more alluring than a woman who can play the saw?

No, nothing. I dare you to disagree after this clip. I love her.

And then, they broke out into Opera

I ask you, is this gal a double threat, or what?

Local Writers

Just after this picture, two local writers walked by, and nervously caught a tag. Let's just say, I don't think King Ozone is going all city just yet.

Motivational dancer

Unfortunately, Jeanine, over there in the red, got a bit camera shy at the last minute, but 15 seconds before, bless her heart, she was all about getting this party started right. Dare I even say it, she was inclined to get this party started quickly.

The real hip hop

For the most part, Harrison Street is pretty safe, but let me tell you, and I'm not trying to stereotype, but sometimes those cell phones get a bit out of hand.

Festaval in the Mission

Which is the best culturally relevant indication of Festaval? The cell phone or the brightly plumed dancer?
Nope, the cell phone.
The guy inside the cell phone is Brazillian, and those dancers are completely out of place. You and your assumtions....
Besides, in case you hadn't noticed from the previous video, these cell phones are locals...

This girl sparked off a whole handstand-a-thon at the lovely Zeitgeist Beer Garden.

Leading to, you guessed it, thrills, spills, and instant hilarity...
Of special note, check out that girl in the background from the first photo with the giant backpack. I'm gonna go ahead and say, "don't". I mean, c'mon, it's cute when you're a six year old getting off a school bus and your bag is Sponge Bob Square Pants that's a s big as you, but when it's a portfolio full o' self-referencial, check out my neurosis, bore-a-thon drawings of your barbies, you've got to leave it at home. End of story.

Indiana almost pulls it off... but then, nope

There's a fine line between irony and actually being the dork you're lampooning. When your jacket's just a bit too big (like the shoes you're trying to fill) and the elastic band at the bottom of your pants reveals the rave-a-goth boots you wasted your allowance on a few years back... Sorry pal, you've been moded.

On the town

Me, Oliver, and Ty, on the town and getting some street food. In the first picture, Ty had just climbed over a banquette to get to his seat and dumped half of Oliver's beer in my lap. Ty's taking it in stride, but Oliver's out a beer (notice the broken pint in the foreground) and I've got a pocket full of beer.

Scientologists vs. Demonstrators.

Spectacular Grill Work

Really amazing metal work outside this place. Apparently they have two Tig welders in the back and did this work on site. Although not quite done, it's really something. Met a guy who is a volunteer there. great stuff. You've really gotta zoom in (double click) on the pictures to get a better view.

Street Murals

I've definitely got to hand it to San Francisco, the Mission in particular, they've got phenomenal murals everywhere.

This guy pulled it off...

Here, even propped up against a dumpster, we're reminded of the old classical lesson. You can get people to stare at art incessantly if your subject is a curvy naked woman. The next guy tries to throw in a political message, which, well, just doesn't work for me.

Yeah, I don't know...

Maybe it's a classical pose I'm not familiar with, or there's some other reference taking place. But if it's just fetishizing suicide bombers, I can't say I'm a buyer.

Elaboration on a theme

Take a classic, (once again, double click on the image) throw in a couple facial piercings, et voila, new classic. Demurely pose your foot just so, and I'll definitely buy a candy bar. What, 2 Bucks? Hit the bricks, sister.

Found art

Hang me, but I just love poignant rainbow themed plaques with catchy phrases. Hell, find me the fella that doesn't.

More Guerrilla Advertising

This guy goes all the way, and you've just gotta admire. He printed out a full billboard sized ad and put it up. Nice. I don't know who he is, but he has lots of stickers up with the winged bomb. Well done my man, well done.

Unisex hair saloon

"No really Ernesto, I can paint two heads, one male, one female, it won't be much more paint and... Yeah I hear you but don't you think it'll look a little..Okay Ernesto, you're the boss."

Strange SF bartenders

Strangely combatative for an San Fran bartender, I pointed out to him that if he was gonna rock the curly mustache, he oughta do his knuckle pose in the old bare knuckled fighter stance, and it probably wouldn't hurt to be wearing a unitard either. He agreed but thought that might make him look kind of silly. Naturally I just let the conversation end right there.

Space Invaders on Mikayla and Oliver's back wall.

Oliver and Mikayla have been good enough to put me up at their place in the Mission while I'm down here (or up here) in San Francisco. This is their wall in their backyard.

Mikayla outside her local pirate radio station

Also conveniently serving tea and coffee to local young hipsters for a small fee.

Leo's Lair

When visiting my Aunt Lucy, I stay in Leo's Lair. At their old house it was the garage behind the house. At the new(er) one, it's a room down in the basement. It's where Leo Kept his records and comic books and 3d glasses and things like that. Leo, unfortunately passed away years ago, but he was a really great, smart, and funny guy. And I think he clearly had his priorities in order. So, when I finally get a house and a family and all that, I'm going to have a chill out space, and I'm going to name it Leo's Lair. Here's a painting of Leo, chilling in his lair, and having a beer. I like to think he was listening to polka, but it might've been Bach or Duke.

Barbara Morgan prints

My mom's favorite photographs are two shots of Martha Grahm dancing, taken by Barbara Morgan. My Aunt Mitsy was friends with Barbara Morgan, so my grandmother got them and then my mom got 'em. I stumbled upon a gallery yesterday that had a show dedicated to Barbara Morgan, and here are the two prints.
I've been corrected, apparently, Barbara Morgan was somehow a cousin.

The reason I'm here

As Jerome David once remarked, and I paraphrase, we're all entitled to see the reason we were born, and struggled through sophomore French class, and got our hearts broken, and barely squeaked past all of our various trials and tribulations. This experience may come with or without our understanding of it, but sometimes we may be lucky enough to have a glimmer of recognition. As luck would have it, mine peeked out at me yesterday while in a subway tunnel. And here it is. was. is.
For other Jerome David posts, check here

SF fashion do's and don'ts

While I am clearly not the paragon of fashion in my levis and construction boots, I do have an opinion or two about said topic. Starting here. This whole super tight jean rocker thing is lame enough as is, but I acknowledge everybody's right to be a fashion victim. Here's where I draw the line though, this whole carabiner to rock the keys you can't fit in your tight jeans. Dude, you look like a gay janitor, which hey, maybe you are, but if you're not gonna have the cajones to rock an ironic handlebar mustache then methinks you need to just halt it right there homeboy.

Cool old Trolleys, wine bars, and dive bars

How do you write the plural of trolley anyway? After the SFMOMA I wandered Market Street, which gets pretty dumpy pretty quickly, and stopped at ZCSF, then I checked out a great small Wine Bar, "B", and another one who's name escapes me at the moment. Then off to the other side of town for a flight of Etude. Soter is still cranking out some damn fine pinot (If, that is he has more than minimal involvement these days) Then back over to scenic West Portal for a quick Guiness at the Philosopher's club.
Notice the Red Sox Jersey on the wall. WTF? What's with that band wagon these days? At least it's not the Yankees...

Zen Center of San Francisco

ZCSF is Shunryu Suzuki's place in SF. Obviously never met the guy (he died in '71) but I've always admired him from his writings. Beautiful building on Page street, and after the sit, I went upstairs and got some food and wandered around. I'll miss the talk today, but did manage to check out the upstairs. Beautiful Enso, zendo and the biggest Kesu I've ever seen in my life, just look at that sucker, hope I get a chance to hear it.

Is everybody in the world biting off Shepard Farey these days?

I mean just look at this shit! Either Virgin is biting off him and he should sue, or he took a payday. Either way, it's exactly what I've been saying...I suppose it's nice that his work is getting notice, but a little piece of me dies when grafitti goes corporate.