Solar eclipse. San Francisco. California. 5.20.2012.

After brunch, Inome and I decided to go make our own pinhole cameras out of Pringles cans and try to see the solar eclipse through them at the park by our apartment building. We headed out to the park at 5 and waited. We didn't see anything good through our pinhole cameras and could eventually see the eclipse through the flares off our iPhone pictures. So we gave up on our pinhole cameras entirely. Fortunately for everyone at the park, this couple had a sheet of mylar and you can see the eclipse through the mylar perfectly! A friend of theirs at NASA had told them about it. I had turned around to see why there were a bunch of people looking at this car on the road, when I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I saw crescent shadows on the car and on the wall. Then I finally realized that I was actually seeing the crescent shadows from the eclipse. What a treat to witness!

Thrown down hoe down. San Francisco. California. 5.19.2012. Guest.

I came out of DJ retirement this evening for a celebration with friends. Mostly I just wanted to play music and have some beers with my friends and have a good time before my reign of freelancing begins. I would say that was successful on all fronts. Big thanks to Tommy for suggesting this party, Jesse for hosting, Jonathan for DJing with me and everyone who came out!

Image below courtesy of Eric Lindberg.

Yann Tiersen. Regency Ballroom. San Francisco. California. 5.11.2012.

Tonight I went to see Yann Tiersen. I told all my friends about it and that he's the guy who did the Amelie soundtrack. Little did I know that his music is actually a lot more diverse than the Amelie soundtrack (luckily). I kept thinking, oh wow, this is a lot like Arcade Fire + Jónsi + Washed Out. I wish I had known that so I would have been more persuasive when I told my friends about the show. The woman that opened, who was not Piano Chat on the bill, is a one woman live musical. I don't know how else to explain it except that she loops her instruments and her voice and does the songs that way. She was definitely very interesting and emotive.

Planet Magazine Global Travel Photo Contest. 5.9.2012.

Here's a bit of random news. I got honorable mention in the Planet Magazine Global Travel Photo Contest this year. I was clearing out my inbox and checking out the link when all of a sudden I said, "Wait a minute, this picture looks familiar..." Then I looked up to the left hand corner with the credit and realized it was mine! That is when I emailed all my friends this news. Then I went on my merry way of clicking through the rest of the gallery and then I said, "Holy crap! I have another one in here!" I had completely forgotten that I even submitted to this contest. I think I did it because Sebastian Kim was one of the judges.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier. San Francisco. California. 5.6.2012.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk
3.24.2012 - 8.19.2012
de Young

Ruth Asawa. San Francisco. California. 5.2.2012.

I have always admired Ruth Asawa's work. It was a pleasant surprise to see her installations in the de Young Hamon Observation Tower lobby. I love play on shadows always and I thought these were just absolutely beautiful.

Commonwealth. San Francisco. California. 4.30.2012.

Tonight I was at Commonwealth for dinner. I actually liked the size of the portions they serve. A lot of people I know say that they are small. However, I find them to be the perfect size. Not too much so you are uncomfortably full. This is what I ordered:

asparagus, crushed avocado, black olive, chicory root, almond nasturtium
rainbow trout, peas, fiddlehead fern, maitake mushroom, pig ear terrine, hollandaise

For dessert I had the peanut butter semifreddo with frozen popcorn. I liked the semifreddo, but I am not a fan of popcorn so I don't think I would be the best grader on this one.

Both my appetizer and main course were extremely good, and I would wholeheartedly recommend them.