And three times I've seen the Singing Shark/Lighting up the sky... (w/apologies to Blue Oyster Cult)

Foul-mouthed sharks are big nowadays (WARNING: This caption/link NSFW due to language. Clicking these words might offend your computers delicate sensibilities. Or at least the sensibilities of whoever owns it. The picture's OK to click, though)

I don't know what kind of ink they used- but it catches a camera flash nicely!


Previously:
Ceiverism: A Way of Life
Good Hygiene Is Universal

CA Academy of Sciences: Homo Sapien Exhibits

They've got everything at the CA Academy of Sciences!

Not only can you see Claude, albino alligator, in its (relatively) natural habitat; You can watch Vic, the entomologist, in his (relatively) natural habitat as he goes about doing... whatever the hell it is he's doing here (Please don't tap on the glass)...

OK, OK, I admit: my Claude the Albino Alligator pics were out of focus. You'll have to settle for Vic Smith, Entomologist.

The kids were having just as much fun watching the divers as they were the fish...

Para el sol y para el agua...

It's a riddle.

Translation: "For the sun and the water..."

Something in this picture can be used for sun and water:

Loteria Grill in the Farmers Market, Los Angeles, CA.

Did you find it?

"¡Lotería!"!

What's Your "Beef"? (with apologies to William Shakespeare)

I think (and hope) they were going for a play on the old Wendy's ad slogan: "Where's the beef?"

What meat from yonder deli sandwich makes?

A rose by any other name,
May truly smell as sweet;
But, is it beef or is it "beef"?
What is this mystery meat?
 
Previously:
Dressed To Kill?
Night Blogging?

Inner Sunset Neighborhood Community Bulletin Board

Varied my routine a bit this morning and saw this whilst waiting for the N. My first thought was: "Goofus and Gallant"

What Jake lacks in grammar skills and production values he makes up for with sincerity & enthusiasm...

Angelo's mistake? He forgot to include his phone number...

But, to be honest, I'm not sure which one's Goofus and which one's Gallant.

I do hope this is the work of two guys and not one with two distinct personalities. The upside of that would be $1,110 with half the space being used. You could turn the other room into a den.

Good luck, fellas!

I Don't Think We're Ready For These Jellies

Donna and I finally got around to checking out the CA Academy of Sciences the other day...

These jellyfish are lucky. They escaped the Great Moon Jelly Massacre of 2010...

The tank they're in has lights that slowly change color (that's why they're red). It reminded me of this candle I saw at CIRCOLO Restaurant once...

(I was testing the camcorder on my then-new, semi-smart phone)

Anyway, a day or so after I took the jellyfish picture, a bazillion moon jellies washed up on Ocean Beach!

The good folks at The Ocean Beach Bulletin were on the scene immediately. They've got some great pics over there. Check it out. I'll wait.

(I didn't go down to see the carnage. I've seen beached jellyfish before. More importantly- I've smelled beached jellyfish before! Nooo, thanks)

In a follow-up story, the OBB interviewed an expert on invertebrates who said it's not unusual or anything to worry about.

Unless you're a jellyfish, of course.

Previously:
The CIRCOLO Interlude
Starfish Trooper

Rideout Fountain in Golden Gate Park, SF

I took these on Veteran's Day...

After some set backs, this recently-restored, fountain from 1924 graces the park once again. The serpents head is actually a recreation done by artist Manuel Palos based on photos of the original- which disappeared.

(The seagull just happened to be there when I took the pic and is not a part of the original design. At least I don't think it is).

The original sculptor was M. Earl Cummings (who had hoped it would end up being a bronze statue. But, it wasn't in the budget...)

At first I thought- "What a crazy match-up! Tiger vs snake? And a saber tooth tiger, no less! This is like one of those Syfy original movies!"

But, hey- it happens in real life, man...


Previously:
11 views in 2 days...

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign...

Previously:
Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign...

Ras Terms on New Montgomery

The art of Ras Terms appeared briefly on a New Montgomery sidewalk in SF back in mid-October.

I'm glad I caught it!

UPDATE 11/12/10: It's still there! Cool. Oh, and it's just after after Minna on N Montgom.

Previously:
Ceiverism: A Way of Life
More Beer * Less Work

San Francisco Autumn Round-Up 2010

Last week was crazy here in San Francisco.

On November 1, the SF Giants won the World Series!

(For those of you from other countries and/or nations: We're talking baseball; And we call it a "World Series"- but it's just the United States. And parts of Canada. I hope it expands to include Japan and Cuba some day. We can call it the "Galactic Championship" or something...)
 
Then, on November 2, SF voters made it illegal to sit or lie down on the sidewalks from 7am-11pm. And California voted to keep marijuana "illegal". (unless it's for medical purposes).

(We voted on lots of stuff, actually. In SF, California and the whole nation. But, I'm going to narrow my focus in this post for brevity's sake).

So, the day after that, SF had a big parade to welcome the Giants home from Texas!

I took this picture on my way to work- 2 hours before the parade. It got used by sfist.com (I'm #8 in the thumbnails)

I had to work, so I wasn't there to be sure; But, I assume the cops kept people from sitting or laying down. It is the law now, after all. I'd hate to see it applied only to certain people in certain places. But, that's the very reason it was voted into law by so many SF citizens...

Full disclosure: I voted against the sit/lie law, in case my subtle sarcasm wasn't apparent earlier. Hey, if it makes the Haight safer I guess I'll just have to accept I was wrong, right? Stay tuned!

There must have been lots of people with prescriptions at the parade. I hear the air was thick with a certain aroma.... Feel better, folks!

(at least former Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill to decriminalize marijuana before his term was up. That's something, at least).

Speaking of former CA governors: Welcome back, Governor Brown!

Our mayor is now our Lieutenant Governor. And I'm glad. You go, Gavin! SF will be OK. Seriously. Go. And don't look back, baby.

If the status updates from my various Facebook friends are any indication (oy, I can't believe I just typed that phrase): Nobody- no Democrat, Republican or Tea Partier (I think there might be one)- is 100% happy with the way the mid-term elections turned out.

So, see? The system works! We're all equally pissed off. U-S-A! U-S-A!

Enough about politics; Let's go back in time a few days- before all this "you're not allowed to sit on the sidewalk and smoke weed" nonsense became a reality. Let's talk about October 31st: Halloween!

I have to admit, Halloween at the Fireside hasn't been the same since The City shut down the Castro Street Halloween celebration. Lots of people would stop in on their way to the Castro. It was great! But, the Castro street party got too big. And then 9 people got shot.

That was four years ago. And there have still been some lively Halloweens since then. But, this year was pretty quiet (at least for me). I was without my Halloween sweetie. Donna was going to be a killer bee and I was going to be her beekeeper/parole officer. But, she ended up having to work. As fate would then have it, we found an awesome pair of butterfly wings at Goodwill:

So, Donna worked her shift as a butterfly...

Donna is a beautiful butterfly

And this ended up being my costume:

I'm not really sure what I was supposed to be. But, I hadn't worn my pith helmet in a while, so... 

Not helping matters was the fact Halloween fell on a Sunday this year. AND, people still had a World Series to focus on. So, yeah, it was a low-key Halloween.

Well, that wraps up my autumnal update, gentle reader. Thanks for stopping by!

Previously:
Sunsets of the Inner Sunset: October Orange