The Great Outdoors

At Least It's Not Snowing

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

SFgate's parenting blog (yes, they actually have a parenting blog. No, I don't read it.  Yes, apparently my friend reads it.), has dug up a bunch of the Chronicle's photos of past SF snow storms.  And as someone who was raised in a state that actually has seasons, most of the snaps are terrifying: some women wearing giant black dresses standing in 2 inches on Shotwell.  A little kid joyously screaming.  A playground snowball fight.  A bunch of people sledding down a hill.  And this shot of a student skiing down the hill behind the UC Medical Center.  Just looking at these gives me flashbacks to digging cars out of snowbanks, having a heating bill, and not being able to stop my bike on all the ice while riding across down.

Not that I'm saying that it wouldn't be fun to run home right now, dig the skis out of the garage, hike up the top of Dolores Park and ski all the way down while some grey-haired neighbor chases me through the park for tearing up the grass and having fun—because it would—but we all moved to this coast for a reason.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Zeitgeist is Back

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

After three weeks of miserable weather—two of which our dear friend Zeitgeist was closed for renovations—I took the opportunity yesterday to soak up the moisture at the Marina's favorite outdoor oasis.  For everyone who was pulling for Zeitgeist to get some real bathrooms while renovating: sorry, those were left untouched.  But what they did do was completely gut their bar, add more taps, and build some windows behind the bar that allow bartenders to serve drinks directly to patrons on the back deck (who knows if they'll ever do that, of course).

Other oddities that sprang up over the last two weeks include a bunch of new computerized cash registers, complete with credit card swiping capabilities and a receipt printers.  Amazed, I slapped my maxed-out Visa on the table and asked if “those things” worked and if they were accepting credit cards as substitute for legal tender.  “No fucking way.”  The bartender did not seem to like tapping the screen, not that those bartenders seem to like much of anything.

Sitting outside, despite my attempts to drink my beer, my glass never seemed to empty, it just became increasingly watered-down with ever sip.

I have the sniffles today.

  

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

City of San Francisco Upset Over Harmless Sidewalk Garden

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Apparently a “hater” that is down on flowers and spraypaint koi fish complained about the sidewalk garden at Sanchez and 16th and now the city is demanding the house remove the flowers:

The garden, which is also home to everyone's favorite wish list to Santa, isn't blocking sidewalk access to wheelchairs, so I'm not quite sure what the city's real motivation here is (other than appeasing a random hater).  Worst of all, a neighbor claims that the potted plants six doors up (seen in the first picture) received no such warning.

If you're interested in fighting floral injustice, there is a petition hanging on the garage door at 262 Sanchez or you can email/call Alex Hong, the building inspector who issued the warning, at 415-554-5856 / Alex.Hong@sfdpw.org.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Combover Cactus

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Is combining locks of human hair, googly eyes, and something that hurts when you try to fornicate with it the future receipe for a winning piece of street art?  Looks like it to me.

The Scoop Behind the Yellow Birdhouses Around Town

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

“Jim”, the man responsible for hanging all the yellow birdhouses around the Mission and SOMA, emailed us to tell us about his project:

I come from a long line of birdwatchers and enjoy following birds myself, so I thought why not cater to local species and make birdhouses for them? I started out making houses for the California Towhee which migrates through Northern California, then branched out and started just free styling them.

Some friends caught wind and I started making more for them, and eventually I was asked to show 50 of my birdhouses at a pop-up gallery show in SOMA at Unspeakable Projects. I then sold those birdhouses, and the deal was I would install them in the location of the buyer's choosing.

I've made a bunch of birdhouses made of wood from local recycled pallets, sold a few at an art show and now am just continuing to make them and put them up around town. Feel free to track their progress on the website. I'll be updating as I go.

If you want to sponsor the project, $50 bucks will get you a birdhouse and installation at your choice of location.  You can order one by sending an email to jimewing3@hotmail.com

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Painting Over Vandalism is Also Vandalism

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

The SF Examiner hips us to the urban art movement developing in McLaren Park:

When 23-year-old Aaron Perry-Zucker first moved to the Excelsior neighborhood last summer, he noticed the large amount of graffiti covering signs and benches in John McLaren Park that differed from the green space near his former Berkeley home. […]

Around Thanksgiving of last year, Perry-Zucker — a graphic designer by trade — decided to paint over the tags himself. Normally The City uses muted brown or standard grey to cover up graffiti, but Perry-Zucker wanted to use more attractive colors.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for ORFN tags on park benches, but if you're one to complain about such matters, its seems Aaron's course of action is a good one.  How does the the City feel about it?

“The public is not allowed to paint over city property at will, no matter how bright and colorful the paint,” said Recreation and Park Department spokesman Elton Pon.

Pon encouraged all residents to report graffiti using The City’s free tip line, 311.

Nice.

(link) 

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Standing in the Rain

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

If you're not on Twitter, you might not have known that it rained Saturday.  And what a spectacle it was!  While most rational people were hiding under overhangs and complaining, the bartender of the 500 Club walked out of the bar, jumped onto the street and just stood their looking up in complete awe.  Perhaps this was his first bath in a while.

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