When 170,000 balls attacked San Francisco

I’ve been living in the northeast section of San Francisco for most of my adult life.  My neighborhoods are North Beach, Telegraph Hill and Russian Hill, although I identify my neighborhood as North Beach (the boundaries aren’t always clear).  Most of you have seen where I live even if you have never visited San Francisco.  How?  This part of the city has been used as a ‘backdrop’ in hundreds of movies and advertisements.

Here is one of my favorite videos of this neighborhood.  It is a advertisement for the Sony Bravia television.   They used 170,000 balls in this video.  The song is “Heartbeat” covered by Jose Gonzalez.  Enjoy!

Tonight’s reading of Duncan Lance Black’s “8”

Here’s a video of tonight’s reading of 8, the Duncan Lance Black play about the anti-same-sex-marriage proposition 8 here in California.

Several actors showed up: Brad Pitt, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon, John C. Reily and others gave an excellent reading. It starts at about 17:36 and the video linked below should do just that. This is well worth watching. It’s no wonder that the plaintiffs don’t want videos of the trail to be released – they’d look like nincompoops.

Valentine’s Day Cards, 1950’s

My mother saved every scrap of paper that I ever got at school.  A few years ago, she gave me bags and boxes of stuff from my childhood, including about 200 Valentine’s cards that I received in elementary school in the late 1950’s.

Here is a selection from my extensive ‘collection’.

You should be able to click on the image to open it in another window, and then click again to see it enlarged.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Glorification of criminal activity, part 1:

Because our culture isn’t screwed-up enough, we need more glorification of violence and crime.  And now we have it:  The Mob Museum, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to their website, the museum showcases ‘both sides’ – as if mob bosses need to tell their side.  Sorry, but this is totally wrong.

The museum opens on the 82nd anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (Tuesday, February 14th).  Maybe we should make that day a national holiday.

This is from their website:

Located in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, The Mob Museum showcases both sides of the notorious battle between organized crime and law enforcement. With high-tech theater presentations, iconic one-of-a-kind artifacts, and interactive exhibits, you can finally discover the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

http://themobmuseum.