7X7 Adventures...

Photos: © Stan B.

Retirement, and the long daylight summer hours, continue to allow me the time to explore the nooks and crannies of this 7 square mile plot of land known as San Francisco. I've actually discovered places unknown to this East Coast transplant these past two decades, places like the non presumptuous Turtle Hill, which allows one the most panoramic view in all San Francisco- from the downtown skyline to the entirety of Golden Gate Park (20 acres larger than Central) to the Pacific Ocean itself... a spectacular vista from such an unassuming and unheralded viewpoint! 

One day I zigged instead of zagged in an area I had previously frequented and found myself in the neighborhood of... Sea Cliff, an area tantamount to a drug induced experience- LSD in the morning coffee! Most of San Francisco, no matter what the geographic or economic environment, has a certain rhythm and familiarity to it, particularly in its unique architecture. Sea Cliff left all that far behind, it didn't look like anything, feel like anything even remotely connected to San Francisco! By the mere turn of a corner, I had been somehow, someway rather magically transported to a Riviera seaside resort, a very wealthy seaside resort. I was now in the land of, not the well to do, but the filthy rich- mansion beside mansion beside mansion... with curiously little real estate separating them. A goddamn ghetto of mansions! And I do mean... Mansions! With a beach on either end of this very compact and ultra exclusive neighborhood. 

These photos are from neither of the aforementioned, not much purpose in my book if the photos can't in some small way capture some of what the place actually feels like. If I can't do the place some kind of justice in my small way, well then, I'd rather it live in my mind just how I wish, rather than belittle it with an image that just demeans the entire experience. Fortunately, I do, on occasion, get photos where I never anticipated, expected or contemplated;* these are the neighborhoods I've been exploring, usually working class, mostly residential and on the outskirts of town, far from the hipsters, tourists and tech nerds the city is known for; neighborhoods such as Bayview, Excelsior and Portola. Rounding the corners and traversing the hills and crevices, one will occasionally (very occasionally) be rewarded with the odd, photo worthy streetscape or unique, unforeseen point of view...

Photos: © Stan B.

*I still see young 'street shooters' moping about in the SF downtown area and I wanna yell at them (or at least gently suggest)- why are you wasting your time trying to retake classic street photos... on streets devoid of people?!? Move on, adapt- do something different! Even pre-Covid, when downtown SF streets were bustling, it was good to have a more varied diet of photo resources, now it's 100% crucial! It's why I expanded to also do essays on: pet cemeteries, 'bipping,' graffiti (and painted over graffiti), cars, Oakland Mail Trucks, panoramics, the SF leather Fairs and just about every protest I can attend locally. The latter will culminate in a book entitled 45-46-47 (ie- the Trump years) which will end in (god spare us all!) '28... Point is, ya gotta keep stretching the envelope, testing the waters- or rot on the vine.

Is What It Is...

And while we're at it!!!

Fame And (Mis)Fortune!

I had no idea whatsoever about the torrent of copycat infiltrators Jake Ricker was subjected to at what would mark the forced conclusion of his Golden Gate Bridge project. I can well understand wanting to see him in action, congratulate him, engage in conversation and possibly learn from him- but I just can't even begin to contemplate what was going through these people's minds that they would willingly try to copy his photographs... directly in his presence! How does one even begin to make sense of that- the audacity, ignorance and sheer impudence of such an act? How do their minds (not) work- somehow, someway thinking they can magically glom on to his hard earned work, talent and recognition simply by trying to directly imitate him... right next to him!?! How dishearteningly surreal is that- particularly at such a world famous venue which is both so uniquely public and yet singularly isolated? We're such an utterly flawed species...

Hope he eventually gets his well deserved book deal!

I Don't Understand...

 And I don't think I want to... 

There's a Pokemon Convention/Celebration/Championship currently in San Francisco. I don't know much, if anything about it, other than being some kind of cartoon character game/creation that seems to be quite the money maker. Now, I can understand parents taking their six year olds to it, what I can't understand are all the twenty year olds lumbering about with armloads of hundreds of dollars of swag, smiling away, looking as if they were finally released from their basements for their first taste of sunshine since puberty- all for something I would have been thoroughly embarrassed to have not left in the rear view mirror years before entering freshman year of high school!

People in this country are dying from not having the money necessary for routine life saving operations, and people and babies the world over from Afghanistan to Gaza to Sudan are dying from not having the most basic nutrition and medicines to stay alive, thanks to the gutting of US Aid (.5 of 1% of the total US budget) so that a Nazi saluting billionaire could gleefully claim he eliminated government fat while not touching a single cent from our bloated military budget (soon to be well over a trillion US dollars), so that yet another billionaire could get the public's mind off his pedophile past by starting a completely unnecessary and illegal war he had already resoundingly lost a month in- and has not the slightest on how the hell he's getting us out 'cause he's just too damn busy personally handpicking matching drapes and fondling his Corinthian columns! 

I-just-don't-get-it.

Wild Horses

That's right, America's symbol of freedom, the wild Mustangs of the West; get 'em by the thousands for pennies on the dollar- perfect for someone's dining room table, all thanks to... 
Great American Orange Man!

I Wanna Live...

In this girl's universe!

Cool, Calm, Rational

No hyperbolics, zero partisan rants, just rational, logical in your face, common sense- a lovely change of pace on the insane card we've all been dealt...

Fight Song!

I'd gladly follow her into any battle with this song in the lead- a beautifully infectious, somewhat quirky, and highly melodic song (with a long convoluted history) as are many in Sinead's repertoire. Her rendition captivating and life affirming- as was she...

The Nerd Reich

Ce La Vie...

Really enjoyed this (Celui qui tombe), not even the music (which I didn't particularly) could stop me from liking it. And it works on so many levels- as both sculpture and dance, love and confusion, and anything and everything we experience in life, art, and loss...

Feeling Groovy!

Really need to get my mind off the usual lunacy we are forced to live with on a daily basis, so how 'bout a nice lighthearted musical melody to soothe the nerves and bring in the weekend... 

So all you younger readers, aspiring musicians, and sailors trapped on aircraft carriers for almost a year with no goddamn end in sight, eating a hamburger patty with a scoop of rice (then hoping to find a working toilet) because of an illegal war meant to take our minds off a bunch of files, photos, tapes and videos that implicate our POTUS and so many of his dearest friends in an international pedophile ring- this one's for you!

The Tell Tale Heart

So... Trump, with the aid of the Secret Service, plays his little, Top Secret, Three Card Monty, Now Ya See Me, Now Ya Don't, food container/airplane disappearing act to avoid a possible Iranian assassination attempt. Deftly played! And let's just forget those loser reporters in the decoy plane that were purposely put in harm's way to secure his safety. 

But how, why would such highly detailed details of such a TIPPY TOP SECRET Operation be so quickly made known unto you, me, or... the Iran who would so longingly love to kill him!?!?!? Who within Trump's Top Secret entourage leaked the plans of his Top Secret Abracadabra Escape Plan?!? Must be one heckuva BIGLY investigation the size of Air Force One itself looking into it- Call, Jeanine Pirro!!! THAT IS ONE HELLUVA SECURITY BREACH!!!

I bet once Cap'n Kash and The Boyz find the scurrilous dog of a traitor, they'll shove him right in the very same maximum security cell with the infamous pool knifer, or worse yet- The Sandwich Executioner! And I wouldn't, couldn't be happier...

Who, oh who, could it possibly be!?!?

You Throw A Party, And...

 What I have to remind myself- ad infinitum...

The Joys Of Retirement

Photos: © Stan B.

I still wake up giddy most days, two-thirds of a year in, retirement has certainly not lost its sheen! Don't know if a return to employment will mar the scenery at some inopportune time hence, but for now... 

One of the things I find (that I could in no way foresee) is how in the moment I am now allowed to be, to experience, to feel! No longer consumed by time restraints, one can now truly relax, enjoy the moment- free of schedule or time limit. Weekends, holidays, even vacations are all finite, so that even while enjoying, one is forever aware of the ever present temporal restrictions. Life is forever consumed by the accountings of everyday life, the eternal ticking of the clock, the push to get things done, before...

Being free of that particular anxiety and apprehension is liberating indeed, and can even lead to more thoughtful and contemplative photographs, and perhaps more important, definitely more important- if I don't get the photograph... at least I fully enjoyed the moment itself! Felt it, breathed it, took it in and experienced it! There's always another day, and another picture- up until there isn't, and then... I needn't worry that possible return!

Trump Dump

We all lead busy lives- so just in case ya didn't catch the art phenomenon of the year... 

It sold for $1800, if we would have gotten our promised tariff dividend- that would have left the buyer with $200!

Helluva Week In Review!

If ya listened to the news this week one woulda swore that 60,000 Africans crossed the sea into Europe and invaded Spain by force. Actually, the news headline shoulda been- 60,000 Africans emigrate to... Africa! Ceuta (where the temporary immigrants emigrated to) is a city in Africa that Spain just happens to occupy, after taking it from Portugal, who forcibly took it from the rightful natives. Spain has another such colony (Melilla) in the country of Morocco (which is none too happy about either situation)- also in the continent of... Africa.

Meanwhile, Sammy The Bull Gravano, was interviewed by the FBI to come up with the goods on the lowdown over- "86" and The Seashells (never did like their harmonies)! Apparently, a former mob prosecutor was nearly hospitalized keeling over in laughter...

Perhaps that complete and utter embarrassment may have played a role in Jeanine Pirro joining AA dropping her 'vandalism case' against a former Olympian. Seems even a working drunk has a better sense of reality once the fog lifts than a dry one!

Meanwhile, hated by some, applauded by many- Dr. Fauci also had an interesting week. I thought him to be the voice of reason during Covid, until... his little scrap with Rand Paul (a man I so thoroughly detest- and Fauci forced me to applaud) when Fauci insisted that Paul had to get the vaccine to be thoroughly immune- even though he had already contracted Covid and endured its consequences! Curly haired doctor, one- short doctor, zero. Then Fauci went on to swear that the virus research center in Wuhan had nothing to do with Covid research! Curly haired doctor, two- short doctor, zero! 

Finally- can't leave w/o mentioning The Fact Attack in DC, cause pretty soon we'll all be too dumb to even find a museum, let alone remember what it's actually for...

But hey, ya know what they say... Leave 'em Laughing!!!

One Man Level of Cool!

Photo: © Stan B.

Having grown up in New York, I've always admired a sense of style. It takes something to possess one, even more to own it; and says something about the person and how they move in the world. Of course, it's ultimately superficial (never judge a book by its cover) but in a world so dominated by the visual- it can carry the day! Some may call it, "Cool-" the look, the manner, the very presence.

There are many things I admire about San Francisco, where I have lived these past 25 years. One thing it clearly does not possess however, is a distinct sense of personal style- it's never recovered completely from the Flower Power days, but its denizens absolutely jump at the chance of getting into costume for whatever generic holiday, event or celebration (they even run their foot races in costume)!

I was on the return journey home from Crissy Field in SF, a simply gorgeous day in a simply gorgeous area around the Golden Gate Bridge, enjoying it for what it was since I knew I was returning home with nothing to show for it, when I happened upon this gentleman who seemed dropped by the hand of god beside that particular signpost. A surreal off site presence, as if he had created his own French New Wave retro movie in which he was clearly starring in the leading role! And star he did!

Before exposure I only dared look at him peripherally, trying desperately not to be noticed- while positioning myself directly in front of him (with no one else beside or around me for cover)! To make things worse, there was a group of tourists directly beside him- I would have to wait, and clearly he would change his position or just wander off while I waited for them to depart and leave us. My previsualizaion was most certainly doomed. Meanwhile, I turned around, checked my exposure and distance- and... prayed. 

As the crowd finally (finally) moved, I turned and quickly took a short series of exposures with very minor alterations from left to right. In my absolute haste to get it in the can, I still didn't get the opportunity to assess the totality of the image (and subject) I was capturing. And he never did look in my direction or acknowledge me (at least not while I was looking), although he certainly had to have sensed my presence. I thought perhaps it was just another street eccentric who temporarily succeeded in  rising to the level of his own imaginings (the most any of us can usually aspire to)- but upon examining the image, it was clear the guy's no simple poseur, this guy's the real deal! Cool? The man defines it!* The suit, that pose, the whole freakin' shebang- goddang, he is a goddamn, one man movie! But is he hero, or villain?!?

*He even balances the phone parallel to the horizon line!

American Fear

7/25/2026                                      Photo: © Stan B.

It's a sad and sorry situation- but true. There's this growing trend of mistrust and fear even among peaceful protestors where some participants are now worried of being photographed, identified and made to face retribution. The result is that they now purposely position their signs in front of their faces in order to dissuade subsequent identification. I've also had some confront me openly with mistrust, even hostility and question who I am, who I'm with, who I represent... This rarely happened before and is becoming considerably more commonplace. And we are not talking "illegals," we're talking White American citizens.

It's sad, and at first made me both confused and a tad ticked off, to be honest. But it is understandable; we live at the behest of a tyrant who has openly made retribution a reality he both flaunts and relishes, and people have undoubtedly suffered due to the retaliatory actions of his fragile, childlike ego- and immense far reaching power. All the more reason to call out, confront and demonstrably defeat this fascist bully- and set precedent for any that follow...

The Parable Of The Snake...

He attempted to steal a Presidential election in front of our very eyes-
do you expect any less of him in the midterms?

And then, there's this...

When Shit Talks...

 

How The CyberTruck Was Designed!