Happy April 1st! (At least, it's still april 1st here.)

I'll always think of April 1st as my niece's [inlink]twisted,171[/inlink] birthday. She's 6 today (as she very proudly told me on the phone).

She was too young to know we all missed her first birthday - we being my sister & brother-in-law (her parents), my Dad and I - because we were in Germany for my great Aunt and Uncle's 60th wedding anniversary. Dad and Jean are there again this year for their 65th wedding anniversary.


Catherine's first Easter

Missing Image ;(

Tante Anni and Onkel Hinrich on their 60th wedding anniversary

Pix from 65th wedding anniversary:
Be sure to check out the Pissoir im Bahnhof.

INDULGENCE IN THE PARK

This perennially controversial alt-Easter celebration features performances by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Kitten on the Keys, Trauma Flintstone, the Ethel Mermen Experience and Polkacide. Easter bonnet contest (1 p.m.) and Hunky Jesus (3:15 p.m.) contest winners collect $100 each. Festivities begin at 11:30 a.m. with an egg hunt and cake walk for kids. Free. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Dolores Park, Dolores and Church streets, San Francisco.

I don't think Alameda is ready for that.

This[inlink]news,597[/inlink]is why I could never be a parent. There is no way I could deal with the possibility of seeing someone/thing I love get messed up beyond recognition and have to sit by helpless. I totally give you parents out there credit. I am a coward when it comes to that.

Ok, I know it's only a website. But oh-- golly... gee... damn!!!



Luckily everything turned out ok. This time.

"This" mostly happened while I was out chalking [search]chalk[/search] the sidewalks of Alameda for

e:west

/ alamedalink. I decided to concentrate on places where people have to pause for a moment - bus stops, newspapers stands, crosswalks (people actually wait for the pedestrian light here - it's so cute), laundromats, mailboxes, pay phones, casual carpool pick-up spots (talk about ad-hoc community), bike racks, ferry terminal, dog parks. I've got to conserve my minimal resources right now. I might get more creative later. I'm only one person fer cryin' out loud.

(e:uncutsaniflush) - that house[inlink]uncutsaniflush,28[/inlink] is gorgeous! I hope it works out. My experience has been that any acquisition with a past - be it a house or a significant other - will have some undesirable baggage. But it can be worth it. You will know the answer. From that picture alone (if it weren't for the snow) I'd be ready to buy it myself, sight unseen! I hope the inspection goes well. If not, better to walk away. Remember, you are in the driver's seat. If it goes well (which I hope it does) I wish you much happiness there!

I looked at a house across the street from the César Chávez Elementary School in the sunny Mission district today. I love the way they like to decorate everything in the Mission. I like to decorate stuff too.







The raised beds are part of a program at the school known as "Natural Perspectives."

Funded by the Center for Ecoliteracy since 1996, Natural Perspectives works toward an integrated curriculum at the school, while it gives students a hands-on way to learn science in a natural setting.

I would definitely have to brush up on my Spanish if I moved there.

Pot clinics just keep growing

There are 44 McDonald's in all of Manhattan -- more than any location in the world -- and we have 37 marijuana dispensaries in San Francisco

Now there's an interesting statistic for you.


Might seem unrelated, but this is from the same article:

Birds of a feather: Biologist Mark Rauzon argues that those $550,000 perches for double crested cormorants on the new Bay Bridge eastern span represent taxpayer money well spent.

Rauzon, who designed the "corm condos,'' tells us that without the replacement perches that we told you about last Sunday, the old Bay Bridge cormorants might choose to relocate to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, where a cormorant colony is already perched.

But no matter what we might think, the fact is the birds are covered by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act -- which requires nesting birds get new perches.

I'm on a serious New Pornographers kick right now. Since everybody already has every MP3 under the sun - making mix CD's obsolete - here's a short playlist instead.

The Electric Version     "Electric Version"
From Blown Speakers     "Electric Version"
All For Swinging You Around     "Electric Version"
The Mary Martin Show     "Mass Romantic"


From Blown Speakers

When the contact high from the real life adventures wear off,
you find, in the tiny moments that bomb, your old files rain down from the sky.
And would they fall down, like cymbal crashes, would the alarm bell sound?
Would your eyelashes keep all this in time? If not, I won't mind...

it can be impractical.

So can you tell me why in every version of the events shown here,
there's another season that crawls by like years, from blown speakers clear?

It came out magical.

Just a contact high, one in every mood I've ever declined to fight, one in every single exchange you might find. From blown speakers, time came out magical.

It came out magical, out from blown speakers.

Some well-known and lesser-known reasons to visit San Francisco.

Golden Gate Park

A few highlights
Conservatory of Flowers
Since 1879, locals and visitors have marveled at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers, the oldest glass-and-wood Victorian greenhouse in the Western Hemisphere and home to more than 10,000 plants from around the globe.

Japanese Tea Garden
Many people's favorite part of the park, this was originally built as part of the sprawling Midwinter Fair. Begun by an Australian in 1894, this intricate and private (depending on the season) complex of paths, ponds and a teahouse features native Japanese and Chinese plants. Also hidden throughout its five acres are beautiful sculptures and bridges. Makato Hagiwara, a Japanese gardener whose family took over the garden from 1895 to 1942, also invented the fortune cookie.

Map of the Park Notice how it ends right across the street from the Pacific Ocean. Very handy after biking/rambling through the park all day. Also, many great picnic spots and photo opportunities.


Japantown & environs

Cherry Blossom Festival April 16-24

Fun shopping for electronic gadgets, anime, video games, Asian art, anything made in Japan. I like to check out the origami papers and pick out some mystery groceries for a picnic later.

Origami Papers new arrivals monthly. 1,000 sheet 3" mini assortment only $3.75. New Books coming in March: Baby-gami (wrapping methods for baby), Naughty Origami .

Also home of San Francisco's Jazzhttp://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/wa.shtml scene:

The Jazz scene on Fillmore began to define the area, with greats like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday frequently playing clubs in the neighborhood.

Coming Soon:

The Haight, home of hippiedom

The Castro

And many more. That's enough for today though. Check ~Fav Five~ for updates.


BONUS: Handy Street Festival & Seasonal Events Guide

Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter

I love alamedalink! (Parental Advisory: Partial Nudity)

It's actually just some PHP trickery that displays whatever you type into the URL as the last word. But anybody who would like to endorse the site this way, please feel free!

This message brought to you by the alamedalink chamber of boobsterism...uh boosterism!

Yahoo Tests Blend of Blogging, Networking

We heard from people that they have a strong desire to stay close to the people who are important to them, but at the same time they didn't want to feel like they were exposing themselves online," said Julie Herendeen, Yahoo's vice president of network products.

Although many critics continue to dismiss blogs as mostly prosaic rambling, 27 percent of online adults in the United States read them and another 7 percent write them, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Article about the BBC online "Sex ID" test

...a groundbreaking experiment designed by a team of top psychologists to determine one's "brain sex." In sum, whether one thinks like a woman or a man. After 20 minutes of spatial puzzles, word associations and facial-cue quizzes, I received my result: I think like an average woman.

I got the same result. Not sure why, but that surprises me. The test takes 4ever to take, but it's kind of interesting.

In other news, the double-dipping dater [inlink]twisted,169[/inlink] emailed me the proposed lineup for this Friday. He'll have to fend for himself this week since I'll be hanging with (e:j3sse) then.