Living in San Francisco, I’ve come to appreciate and almost expect my fellow residents’ relentless drive for innovative use of urban spaces, to redefine what it means to live and interact with each other. Caused by an acute awareness of the role our wasteful western habits and a lack of imagination have played in creating uninspiring environments, there’s a be-the-change-you-wish-to-see-in the-world DNA in our blood that leads us to embrace alternative ways for sharing space. dig deeper
How Occupiers, pranksters, and artists speak louder than money. by Sven Eberlein, reposted from Yes! Magazine Since long before Abbie Hoffman dropped dollar bills over the New York Stock Exchange—unleashing hilarity as Wall Street traders scurried to gather up cash—humor has been a potent political weapon. It can expose the absurdities and inequities of consumer society. It doesn’t need big bucks to be effective or contagious—Occupy has shown that creativity and imagination can be powerful dig deeper
Yesterday was the kickoff to the 2012 Sunday Streets season in San Francisco, an event that creates a large, temporary, public space by closing off stretches of a neighborhood’s streets to automobile traffic, and opening them to pedestrians, bicyclists, and activities. The opener to what promises to be another glorious season of people-powered streets took place along the Embarcadero, from Mariposa @ 3rd Street at the southern end all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf. We’re dig deeper
Aside from having a great name, these guys really brought the street down yesterday at Sunday Streets. Please Do Not Fight at Sunday Streets October 23, 2011 Runtime1:59 View count83
“Who was the idiot who approved an art show by that woman, Franke James?” Memorable words from one of Canada’s top officials on hearing that the Canadian Embassy in Croatia had offered support for Franke’s art show. From Dear Prime Minister, by Franke James Well, you’d think the government of a major western democracy would have better things to do than to sabotage and try to silence their most creative people, but, oh well, think dig deeper
Happy Solstice, everyone! The longest, most sunlight-filled day in the Northern Hemisphere feels like a good occasion to talk about visions. Visions by nature are somewhere in the distance, perhaps reachable, perhaps not. Where we stand right now is the result of past visions, some of them good, some of them bad, much of it in the eye of the beholder. Without vision, however, we stand still. This might be preferable to moving in the dig deeper
by Sven Eberlein A couple of days ago the 6th annual Bicycle Music Festival, the largest 100% bicycle-powered music festival in the world, took place in San Francisco. Starting at Old Cabin Meadow in Golden Gate Park, the event then went mobile with a Live on Bike performance ride from Golden Gate Park to Potrero Hill, with the night time portion of the event happening at the Showplace Triangle at 16th & Wisconsin. I was dig deeper
The Fun Theory is a really cool project predicated on the idea that people are more likely to change their behavior if the reward is inspiring and uplifting. Sure, you can threaten and scare people into changing their ways but it’ll be a constant struggle and people will in fact get very creative in resisting and defying you, not even necessarily because they disagree with your message or goal but because nobody likes to be dig deeper
Here’s another great musical discovery from this week’s Sunday Streets. The band’s name is Con Brio (meaning with spirit, or with vigor), and they were the perfectly spirited match for a spirited event. People of all ages and backgrounds in the streets, on wheels and on foot, taking in the groovy, funky and sometimes raunchy sounds. I’d apologize for the sometimes gusty crackles if they didn’t actually match the mood. This song is called Ghostrider, dig deeper
Walking down 24th Street yesterday on the occasion of Sunday Streets I found myself stopped in my tracks by some crisp acoustic guitar music coming from up above. Notice the lack of cars. music from the window Runtime0:30 View count57 Here are a couple of photos for a better view…