The COVID Chronicles is a series of posts relating my experiences and observations during the pandemic. I hope that this will be the final post in the series. March 12, 2022. My wife Cora and I are having lunch at Caffe Sport in San Francisco’s North Beach, the City’s Little Italy. Caffe Sport is a …
Fort Point is one of San Francisco’s often overlooked jewels. Built between 1853 and 1861 to guard the inlet to San Francisco Bay, the fort, surrounded by water on three sides, rests on the southern shore of the Golden Gate. While it is a historic fort, one doesn’t have to be a history buff to …
February wanes; the Year of the Rat is done. A foul rodent of a year, leering through sharp filthy teeth has passed and given way to the ox. In ordinary healthy times San Francisco’s Chinatown would now be winding down from the February festivities. February is when Chinatown typically dresses up in it’s finest, brightest …
Anyone who’s visited San Francisco, since 1972 has seen the Transamerica Pyramid, one of The City’s most iconic structures. I was in my teens when the building design was unveiled and quickly met with derision from the media and from public officials. It was criticized as something that would be more appropriate on the Las …
The Bay Area awoke to a New Year that was bright, beautiful, crisp and clean. We took a walk at Crissy Field where the Golden Gate Bridge is in full view. During our walk we came upon a beached boat with no apparent owner besides nature to do it’s inevitable work. I took a few …
I’d originally planned to post this after a final edit on January 6th. The events of that day compelled me to focus on a more pressing topic (see posts January 6th 2021. Insurrection in America and Cut by the Knife of Corruption. ) “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going …
“A year like no other.” That term became overdone sometime around April and now we find ourselves at the 2020 finish line. What a slog. They say that you hit the wall in a marathon at around mile 21 of the 26. If 2020 was a marathon, and it certainly seems that it was, we …
Some holiday traditions are forever. Take for instance, the big blue recycle bin; it’s overflowing with cardboard and there’s a pile of cardboard that won’t be binned until the trashman comes and empties the bin. There’s one prime rib bone left in the fridge, the tree is molting and is no longer being watered and …
Featured image: San Francisco’s famous Painted Ladies as seen from Alamo Square. It’s not a difficult thing to find colorful buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area. A drive down Highway 80 from home brings me to Oakland’s Chinatown where the buildings are alive with murals. Below the mural on a city owned building is …
This week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, hosted by Amy focuses on negative space in photography. My understanding is that negative space is the area that, by definition, you aren’t necessarily supposed to focus on. Negative space is the lack of clutter surrounding the main subject that allows us to focus on the main subject. The photo below …
A few months ago when the new normal predictions were all the rage and being tossed around by everyone from my personal friends to pundits, psychologists, CEOs and politicians, I threw the “bullshit flag.” Human nature is what it is I objected. As soon as the all clear sounds people will flock back to stadiums, …
In keeping with the current architectural theme, this week Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge focuses on modern homes and apartments. This colorful apartment building sits just on the fringe of Chinatown in San Francisco. Maaaaay-be there’s an apartment in there somewhere. The most prominent building in the photo below is the Salesforce Tower. I’d be willing …
Washington Square Park is the centerpiece of San Francisco’s North Beach and it represents my earliest memory of San Francisco’s Little Italy. October, 1964, I’m on the cusp of my 12th birthday and President Lyndon Baines Johnson is appealing to San Francisco’s grass roots. It’s less than one month until the presidential election and I’m …
Reminiscences of San Francisco’s Little Italy, from the beats to the eats to America’s longest running play.
This week’s Lens-Artist Photo Challenge comes from Ann-Christine who suggests that we find images with delicate colors in celebration of Spring. While sunrise and sunset often treat the viewer to brilliant, bright and vibrant views, dawn and dusk can also deliver the softest hues. Below are two views of nearby San Pablo Bay at sunset. …
“Unfortunately, we all go through bad phases.” ~ Sushmita Sen (Indian actress) Woo hoo, it’s phase two. California’s starting to open up, an event I’m greeting with mixed emotions. On the one hand I’m glad for the small business owners and workers who’ve been holding on through a rough two months and can now start …
Taking a breath of viral free air to offer something pleasing and to try to relieve some of the angst if only for a few moments. The San Francisco Bay Area is rich in street art; some of it sanctioned and some not. Below is a small sampling of images of a few of the …
It isn’t the end of days but, as the bard Robert Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan) wrote, The Times They Are a-Changin. I’ve published one piece about the coronavirus and have begun another but I can’t seem to keep up with the a-changin’ times. What was relevant two weeks ago is ancient history. Hell what was …
My San Francisco is a series of posts that describes my own personal relationship with The City. My San Francisco pieces might be photo essays; they might be life stories or they could be commentaries. They might be a combination of some or all three. My impressions aren’t always paeans to San Francisco; it’s a …
For this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, the topic chosen by Amy is narrow. Water creates its own path through the narrowest of spaces, eventually eroding cracks and making them channels. Below are images of California’s Stanislaus River from a narrow rapid to the narrowest of passages. Below, a narrow section of waterfall cuts through Oregon’s …