San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen used to do the occasional Friday column with this title, throwing unrelated things together in 3-dot journalism style. I’m gonna try it because:
I’m behind in posting; I try to do one per week.
My life is both rich and chaotic these days. I’ve never been so busy, and this, along with the aging factor makes for a wild ride.
So here are random photos. Like a lot of things I do, I’m just gonna start and see how it works. Right now, I’ll work backwards through my photos,
In putting up the pages of my handmade book Pop’s Diner (in the four recent Substack posts), I rediscovered the art of shooting photos with the approximate looks of a 50 mm lens, and collaging them to form a panorama.
What jumps out at me here is the reality of the scene, as opposed to the distortions of wide-angle lenses. It’s exciting to discover this technique I was utilizing 30-40 years ago — except now Photoshop is is piecing them together (in Photomerge).
The kitchen was built by Lew Lewandowski about 30 years ago. (At the time, Lew was a traveling carpenter; carrying all his tools, including a small table saw and joiner in a Volkswagen van [along with his two dogs]),
I got the stainless steel sink for $100 at Caldwell Wreckers in San Francisco. It drains from both sides into the sink, unlike most sinks with a lip around the counter (that eventually rots). I wash dishes in the Rubbermaid dishpan, rinse, and stack in the slotted wooden shelf on the right.
(Actually, the counter isn’t usually this cluttered.)
Somewhat to Lesley’s chagrin (and amusement), I did this video a few years ago:
My neighbor, artist Dieter Tremp showed up a few weeks ago with this (12” by 14”) drawing. He’d done a bunch of drawings based on photographer Imogene Cunningham’s book After Ninety, and realized he had a nonagenarian down the road. To tell the truth, I’m kinda thrilled with it.
Anna Magnani, the Italian actress is said to have said to a makeup artist who wanted to smooth out her face, something like "No, no, I earned all these lines in my face."
10,000 Trips Around the Lagoon
Coming home on an afternoon last week. The water, sky, birds, view of the ridge, are always different, and how about this? — I’ve been along the edge of lagoon, returning home, well over 10,000 times — on foot, bike and car. (Say four times a week for 55 years.)
Two Nonagenarians, one Octogenarian
Impromptu old guys club last week.
Tony Serra (red shirt) and me, both 91, and Jasper, our young friend in his early ‘80s at Tony’s house — all of us native San Franciscans. Tony’s daughter Wonder and granddaughter Page had just left, and the three of us talked for about an hour. Tony and I have been friends for over 70 years.
I don’t get the chance to talk to people my age much, and it was like we were speaking a different language — based on what we’ve seen in a pretty good span of years.
One of those “sweet spots in time,”* when everything comes together. We covered a lot of ground, Tony reciting the odd poem in his passionate stentorian style.
Writing this while listening to album “She’s So Fine: The Rise of the Girl Groups,” some of the mighty fine (and mostly unknown) fabulous girl singers of the ‘50s
* If you follow me, you’ll find I use this phrase pretty often.
Farm Fresh Rainbows
Free-range multi-color beauties engineered by Sirima and Walter
Coleus Colors
Three coleus plants and a mask at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery Friday. I bought the gaudy one at top left to liven up our burgeoning garden.
I’m working my way backwards through my iPhone (17) shots here.
A Mexican Bakery
Bakery in the Los Montañas Mercado in San Pablo, the closest thing we have to a real Mexican mercado in the Bay Area. Fantastic store, huge. Real made-in-a-vat chicharones. All the foods of Mexico. And the bakery — well, I appreciate this on an artistic, if not gustatory level.
Freeway Design
Once in a while, freeways exhibit good design. (I love the brick red color; all my doors and windows are painted brick red.) This is near the Presidio Pet Cemetery in San Francisco (667 McDowell Avenue), which is, in itself, worth a visit. (There’s one tombstone for a beloved deceased pet goldfish,)
Surfers on Bikes
Spotted these guys downtown one day. Mitch and Lee got on a train in Truckee (near Lake Tahoe) with their bikes and surfboards, got off in Emeryville, rode the ferry into San Francisco, then pedaled out to Bolinas where they went surfing. Back to Truckee the same day. Truckee to SF: 195 miles.
Tangential Visit
Chris Ryan stopped by for a visit a few weeks ago on a cross-West road trip. Here he is standing in his Sprinter van.
Chris is a fascinating guy and his Tangentially Speaking is my most listened-to Substack. He’s also a heavy duty podcaster, with over 500 episodes, plus, he and his his equally fascinating partner Anya coordinate from time to time and I end up taking notes.
Stinson Beach Lifeguards circa 1960
1960 on a day off, we were heading out to to North Beach on the Point Reyes Peninsula to go surfing in my 1937 Chevy pickup truck (which had had square-cut gears, so you had to double-clutch both up and down through the gears.
66 years ago.
L-r: me, Jim Sylvia, my brother Bob, John Wiskovich, Jim Mc Gowan
One last panorama, the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, thanks to Rick, who walked me through the (to moi) complex steps of saving the panorama so it can be loaded into Substack. I’m intrigued to rediscover this technique. It feels like I’m stepping into the photo.
Poppa’s got a brand new bag.
Great great stuff as always though as a longtime longago faithful reader of Herb Caen I'd point out that his was "Fishwrap" as a nod to the ephemerality of newspapers everywhere [ie ending up wrapping the fish at the local market before day's end]...fish and chips, too ,in England I heard.
Love the photos of the kitchen. The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco reminds me of The Room movie! I think they filmed just outside of it.