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California Fires – News from Anderson Valley Advertiser

It has been hard to get accurate news on the fires. Today, on Saturday the air was better here in San Francisco. Searching around the Internets to see where the fires were burning I ran into these cool quotes on the Anderson Valley Advertiser. Glad the old school internet is working up there. What an interesting view into this little community. These are from the FAQ section.

Anderson Valley Advertiser

Q: Why didn’t the alarm at the Redwood Valley-Calpella firehouse sound Monday morning to alert people of the fire?

The fire department told the Daily Journal that the alarm — which sounds every day at noon — is manual, and no one was around to press the button due to all firefighters being sent out to evacuate people. While it was pointed out that the alarm might have helped alert people to the fire, law enforcement has been making a lot of noise and using bullhorns to wake people up during evacuations.

Roadblock officers will allow pot growers who have official approved cultivation permits and whose names are on their list into burned areas to attend to their crops. People with no permit or only permit applications will not.

Sheriff Allman noted that the aftermath of the fire will result in many unclaimed animals and he hopes people will come forward to adopt them.

A temporary cell tower is being installed in Potter Valley but no specific estimate about when it will be up and running. Presumably soon.

Sheriff Allman noted that organic grape growers Frey Vineyards “took a hard hit.” But Parducci Winery has said they’d handle their grapes for them to the extent possible.

Keep an eye on the Sheriff’s facebook page for current info and updates

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2017 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Official Pelican Café Awards

The 2017 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival was blessed with great festival weather – sunny and never too hot or too chilly and the winds never blew too hard. Out at the ocean there was a large short period swell in the water and moderate onshore winds in the afternoon so unlike some years in the past the surfing was not happening. Good thing there were over 100 bands and 6 stages to experience some great music. Coinciding with the festival were the Blue Angels flying maneuvers over the city of San Francisco. Sometimes a single jet would stall right above Golden Gate Park and then shoot like a rocket straight up only to then arch moments later with a big turn. Many oohed and aahed. Some who have seen the darker sides of war and reality and probably have been through this  routine before, looked to the sky with one-finger peace signs on both hands and sneers on their faces. The middle-aged woman M.C. at the new Victrola Stage just sighed and said something about if only we used all that money for the schools. Starting with Billy Bragg on Friday and going through many acts was a theme of political awareness and either concern for the state of things in the world or ways to contend with the fear and despair.

One of the ways was to simply enjoy all the music and friendly company. As you can see by the photo below, the festival began quite peacefully.

Stressful beginning. Victrola stage in background

BEST HORN SOLO:
Francisco Torres solo on Watermelon Man – Trombone

There are no trombones in bluegrass music  that is certain, but at the 2017 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival there were at least two. I heard more saxes, trumpets and trombones than I did banjos.  Both the banjo and the trombone have known to break up marriages as both are actually very hard to play. Francisco Torres plays trombone and plays it very well with Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz group. They played at 11:40 am on Saturday at the Swan Stage.  The crowd,  a bit subdued, seemed like they were either waiting for the coffee to kick in, the neighborhood blunt to take effect or maybe were simply biding time till “that cool band plays at 2:30.” Overall the band seemed a bit under-microphoned but Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz group band is full of veteran-pros and eventually you knew you would hear something great. I have heard Francisco Torres play trombone live before and was impressed. This guy has great chops and outstanding musical sensibilities and can even channel John Coltrane. His solo on Watermelon Man was outstanding.

MOST AMAZING SOUL SINGER OVER THE AGE OF 75:
Don Bryant

People who have been attending the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival for years know that part of the fun is discovering new musicians and bands.  On Friday I heard the The Bo-Keys. The horn section was fantastic playing with impeccable ensemble. The baritone sax had this beautiful fat sound and and held down the bottom like a anchor.  The arrangements were a little unimaginative but I am told that that is the classic R&B style (I guess Tower of Power never got that memo). Anyway, the second half of the set featured Don Bryant and let me tell you this guy is still going strong. Decked out in a gorgeous ornate black and silver jacket, at 75 he gave a clinic on singing R&B. He was channeling the voice of Otis Redding, James Brown and Sam Cooke all at once – all while having a  great time. The style of blues shouting has many casualties in the vocal world and I hear that people who sing in this style are often  frequent visitors to the  Ear, Nose and Throat clinics across the land. It is an especially difficult style to sing night after night. Don Bryant seemed like the Pavarotti of R&B  and for the entire set he  looked like he was having a gas. All the E.N.T. people should really just figure out how this guy does it. Case closed.

I would rather live a short life of love, than a long one of fear

Lucas Nelson

BEST stage TO BE ON SUNDAY:
Swan Stage

There are basically two approaches to attending the festival. One is to pack light, stake out your spot on one stage then meander over to other stages. This way you can maximize your band count. I know many people who do this and I have come to the conclusion that if you choose this route it is best to go the the festival solo. Alone, you can head off and hear Allison Brown in a moment’s notice. The other approach is to simply bring enough food and drink for the day and stay at one stage that your party has chosen as the best. Sunday I was traveling solo but nevertheless ended up spending four hours at the Swan Stage around a very friendly crowd. For me, the line-up of Poor Man’s Whiskey, Randy Newman and Lucas Nelson (Willie Nelson’s son) was the highlight of the entire festival. Outstanding!

Most Improved:
Poor Man’s Whiskey

Speaking of which, Poor Man’s Whiskey’s set was excellent. I am not sure if there are new members in the band or they changed their beverage of choice but these guys brought it on – great vocals at times, awesome songwriting and some truly interesting guitar solos. Their sound is many things – a bit country, a bit rock and roll, a little Northern California jam-band. During the set one of the band’s members proposed marriage to his girlfriend. That was pretty special.

It’s play time now. There’s no democracy. Democracy’s gone.

Randy Newman

BEST SET BY A MUSICIAN WHO HAS WRITTEN MUSIC FOR OVER 8 PIXAR FILMS:
Randy Newman

When musicians become commercially successful sometimes people no longer take them seriously. Randy Newman’s body of work is outstanding. Sitting at a grand piano playing solo he quieted everyone down and truly delivered. He played some new songs (a funny one about Putin) but also played classics like Short People.

MOST AVANT GARDE SET WHERE PEOPLE JUST GOT UP AND LEFT:
TIE: T-Bone Burnett & Ornette’s Prime Time Band Reunion

The Pelican Cafe has been giving out these awards for six years now and this is the first time that the judges have split their decisions. In the category of Most Avant Garde we have a tie! You had to have been there.  T-Bone Burnett did over an hour of a new direction he is going. Electronic music with prerecorded tracks, a drummer and T-Bone Burnett doing spoken word. There was some mention at the beginning of T.S. Elliot but at a festival like this, subtleties are lost.  Probably pretty cool stuff if you are in the right mood and a smaller venue. At a festival this size you need to paint with a fatter brush. Ornette’s Prime Time Reunion Band played many of the old tunes and sounded really interesting. There were loud like a rock and roll band.  I now am musing over what it would have sounded like if Ornette and Charlie Haden had done the gig as a duo.  Maybe they were up in the clouds flying around in those airplanes. Stranger things have happened lately.

>>>>>>>>>>>

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco is really like Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Big-name bands, many kinds of music and a festive atmosphere. One of the amazing things about Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival is that even though there are tens of thousands of people, it is always a  peaceful event, and in the end people seem to get along just fine and often make new friends. Everyone seems to pack out the trash pretty well too. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Warren Hellman’s party.  Communal music therapy.

 

PAST AWARDS

https://sfjournal.net/blog/2016-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-awards/

 

https://sfjournal.net/blog/the-2015-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-awards/

https://sfjournal.net/blog/2014-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-festival-official-pelican-cafe-awards/

https://sfjournal.net/blog/2013-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-festival-official-pelican-cafe-awards/

https://sfjournal.net/blog/2012-hardly-strictly-bluegrass-festival-highlights/

 

 

 

 

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2017 San Francisco Shakespeare Festival – Hamlet – The Review

Photo Center Lake” in McClaren Park

“Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. “

Hamlet in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare – Act 2, Scene 2

Almost every year we venture off to the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McClaren Park, close to our house, and take in the free Shakespeare in the Park by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. This year, on September 24th, 2017, a warm sunny day, we attended Hamlet. How to put on a 400 year-old play is something that leaves a lot open for interpretation. The playwright is long dead and the scholars, experts and academics have analyzed and argued about how to properly stage, act and produce the play. Sometimes companies attempt to go the route of “authenticity,” using the approved edition and dressing entirely in period dress. Other times they take more modern approaches and present the play in contemporary garb and modernize the language. To my mind, both approaches have their merit, but combining the two weakens the end product. While Hamlet, played by Nathaniel Andalis  and Hamlet’s uncle, King Claudius, -Jesse Cladwell, did a commendable job, the 2017 San Francisco Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet overall was simply third rate – dare I say terrible.

But first I need to make a disclaimer. In the mid-1980’s I worked as a musician/actor at American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin.  At the time the theater hired musicians and for Hamlet I played in the small pit orchestra. https://americanplayers.org/plays/hamlet-1986 These same musicians then made up “the players” in the play within the play. Overall, that summer I worked over 40 productions of Hamlet. Hamlet, the lead,  was played by Randall Duk Kim. Also on the stage in the role of Guildenstern, I believe, was the amazing Stephen Hemming who died way too young at the age of 37 from complications of AIDS. Paul Bentzen played Polonius and I think the grave digger.  I am spoiled to have been on stage with these greats. The depth and power of the American Players Theater 1986 production of Hamlet was extraordinary.

But I am digressing. The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet had many problems, first of which was casting. While I have no issues with men playing women and women playing men in theater roles, it often comes off as amateurish. This is professional theater and indeed Polonius has a beard. To have him played by a woman outfitted like a salesperson at Mattress World simply does not work. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Hamlet’s childhood buddies and were cast with woman. It simply did not work. There was no subtlety in this pair, and just a small tip: people do not drink from flasks every five seconds – that is why they are called flasks. Then there was Ophelia who was cast with what seemed to be a transgender woman. A bold move but there was absolutely no chemistry between this Ophelia and Hamlet. Hamlet is too great a play to be cast like rolling dice or picking straws. Perhaps it is just the lack of local Shakespearean actors who are men or the politically correct culture in San Francisco. Maybe it is just a really small budget.

Hamlet is too great a play to be cast like rolling dice or picking straws.

Theater is but an illusion and when it is successful the audience is transported into another world and hopefully is entertained, enlightened and perhaps made wiser by the experience. Besides the casting, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet also suffered from terrible costumes and set props. It was a pathetic mishmash of old and new. King Claudius was dressed in a grey suit with a vest and looked like someone out of a Humphrey Bogart movie or perhaps a retired banker. The queen was dressed like a model out of a 1964 Look magazine feature – a slinky green cocktail dress in the style of Jackie Onassis. Also, there were simply too many people dressed in wrangler blue jeans and modern-soled shoes to give the ambiance any credibility. If all the cast had been dressed in a particular period or even century that would perhaps work, but then “the players” come out on stage and they are in pseudo Elizabethan garb – all very incongruous and uneven. Don’t even get me started with the binoculars, perhaps a hundred years out of place. Maybe it was a matter of budget and the Goodwill store was the only option. Art is hard work, and often expensive. Putting on a play is a monumental amount of effort. The costumes and stage props were a failure.

Soon enough, Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius (played by a woman, of course), the queen drinks the poison (what was with the modern wine glasses!) and without much further ado, pretty much everyone is lying dead on stage. I put an Andrew Jackson in the hat as it came by. Better luck next year.

What a great play! What a mediocre production!

http://www.sfshakes.org/programs/free-shakespeare-in-the-park/hamlet

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News from San Francisco – Quarterly Report

The Weather

While the rest of the country is experiencing some pretty strange weather with the Hurricanes in the south and the cold in the north, here in San Francisco we have had two weeks of heat. While the heat records were broken in early September, the heat has not really subsided. Presently it is pretty muggy out there and as I write this I hear thunder and see lighting, both pretty infrequent in San Francisco on the coast.

Two weekends ago, starting September 1, the temperature rose to over 105 degrees and set all-time heat records for San Francisco and fortunately the waves at the coast were only about 3 feet high. The beach was packed and little kids were jumping and playing in the waves. Probably a weekend they will never forget. You could surf without a wetsuit and many went out simply for a swim in the ocean just to cool down. Try that in January my friends.

[CLICK ON IMAGES]

Construction and More Construction

While the tearing down of warehouses and the building of modern luxury condos continues at an alarming rate, everyone is simply trying to figure out how long it will take to finish the top of the Salesforce tower. This tower looms large and is visible from all over the city, but the top, last tip is taking forever to complete. What are they debating? Circumcised or uncircumcised? All glass or steel plates? Flags or no flags? Whatever happens no-doubt Mark Benioff will be up there peering down upon the hospital named after him and the rest of the city and thinking up new ways to leverage all the customer data he has in the vaults.

The Old-time San Francisco Does Exist

Contrary to many old salts, the old bohemian edge does still exist, you just have to know where to look. Most of the techies are oblivious to some of the amazing music talent in this town. You simply have to know where to go. Apologies to those looking for advice on the matter, as I like the places just as crowded as they already are – filled with old friends.

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Scheer Intelligence – Danny Goldberg: In Search of the Lost Chord

I cannot say I have read this book In Search of the Lost Chord but I have been really getting into this podcast. Robert Scheer, the veteran columnist from the LA Times and editor and producer of Truth Digg. The guests that Robert Scheer gets on the show are all surely friends of his but he still manages to keep their feet to fire and Robert asks some direct and often challenging questions. Here are some quotes from this interview.

Bill Graham also liked to get paid including in the 60s and he’s an example of somebody who balanced.. wasn’t perfect but the good outweighed the bad. I mean if you expect perfect people, you are going to be disappointed. Even Doctor King had some human frailties.

Danny Goldberg

When you bet on artists its a good bet and that’s the one thing I feel good about. I’ve always tried to put the artists I work with first and they have taken care of me.

Danny Goldberg

I have to say that it is a moment of sadness reading your book because San Francisco is gone. It’s gone not just in the sense of the summer of love its gone as the baudy town of honky tonks.

Robert Scheer

To check out the whole interview, go to http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/scheer-intelligence/danny-goldberg-in-search-of-the-lost-chord

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In Europe – Photos and Ramblings

It is strange feeling when you are at a place a few weeks before a traumatic event. Barcelona in 2017 is just that sort of place for us. We were there in late July and now in mid-August we read and see of the tragic mayhem on La Ramblas. Sorry to hear about this. Barcelona will bounce back from this. To what end is this act of senseless violence?

Some of my ideas for writing blog posts, I found crumpled on a piece of paper in my wallet from this trip to Europe. Here they are as random ramblings.

The Barcelona Waitress
One night we searched out paella. In one restaurant the waitress/host said that they did not serve paella but that if we went to this other restaurant “they make the best.” After many turns though the narrow streets of Barcelona and up La Ramblas and then another turn we made it to the restaurant. The paella was indeed great and the food was all really good but what got me was the waitress. She spoke five languages really well. Spanish, Catatonia, German, French and English. I began to wonder if there are many waitresses that go on to careers in international relations. This woman, in her mid-twenties seemed a likely candidate.

Paella
Paella is not baked, boiled, toasted, steamed, poached or sauteed. Paella is drenched.

The Paris Waiter
Having waited tables for about 20 years in a former life, I am always fascinated by waiters and bartenders. I find a busy bar to be extremely entertaining. It is a place where, because of the business of the place sometimes, becomes a zen zone. Pouring beers while making change while creating a Moscow mule. All done with a rhythm and flow. In Paris one morning we had some coffee and a croissant at a cafe by a metro stop. The waiter, a career waiter you could tell, was perfect. Coffee and croissant in a moments notice, all a bit invisibly delivered. Check at the perfect time. All done. To the train.

French Bike Helmets
Not sure if it a style thing or tradition but people in France rarely wear bike helmets. Middle age men in suits and ties riding their ancient 3 speeds. No helmet. Maybe they just need more fashionable designs? Make one that looks like a baguette, or perhaps like some Camembert cheese. It was great to see all the folks on bikes. We rode the buses and trains.

[CLICK ON IMAGES]

Paris

Barecola

Norther Spain

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San Francisco Pride Parade 2017

June 25th, 2017 was the day of the big parade for San Francisco Pride – a celebration of diversity. For many years I had not paid attention to this event, usually trying to avoid the traffic congestion associated with such a large crowd in town. This time I had relatives and family marching along with the California Bluegrass Association Pride float. Below are mostly photos of California Bluegrass Association Pride float but I could not help myself to get photos of all the “diversity” and “causes.”

Intact Genitals are a Human Right
Intact Genitals are a Human Right

I vaguely remember the Gay Pride parade as being in the Castro but that was years ago. This year it was amazing how many sections were corporate – VISA, Google, Facebook, Workday, Wells Fargo, Intel, Bloomingdale’s, Levis just to name a few. These were all pretty tame in terms of visual presentation and you just had to wonder about the concept of punching the clock for your corporate job and walking down Market Street for your gay pals at VISA – how tame.

Foreskin is not a Birth Defect and It’s Not Your Mother’s Penis 

Signs at the SF Pride Parade

How times have changed as there are surely a few old timers in the gay community scratching their heads about the irony of success. Unlike a lot of parades the music in the Pride Parade is not really the showcase. When there is music it seemed to steer towards a prerecorded sort of night club drum and bass thing. Strange I never heard “I Will Survive,” Tina Turner or even Tony Bennett. There is a musical history to this movement.

Nevertheless, here were some truly interesting and bizarre groups. My favorites where the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” (just the name is awesome), Church Ladies for Gay Rights dressed in loose-fitted old fashion dresses,  and the many church groups marching.  -The group against circumcision – Foreskin is not a Birth Defect and It’s Not Your Mother’s Penis was an interesting juxtaposition to the many medically altered people marching.

California Bluegrass Association Pride Float
California Bluegrass Association Pride Float

Then the California Bluegrass Pride Float came by. The float was truly awesome with the rainbow colors and a sort of front porch theme. The band was picking some fast fiddle tunes when they went by our spot. I am not sure if bluegrass has been played in many parades but the high register of the instruments and the lack of brass and drums make it a bit tricky to garner much impact.  It sounded a bit like bees a buzzin’.  But overall it was truly great to see some headline acts participating on the float – veteran Laurie Lewis along with members of the band Front Country.

While in the San Francisco bluegrass community there are actually very few openly gay people,  you could tell it was pretty special for Brandon Godman who came to San Francisco after being outed and discriminated against in Nashville. Brandon is an amazing fiddle player and was welcomed into the San Francisco musical community with open arms. In San Francisco, people are usually not discriminated against for who they love and choose to sleep with. Just ask the Church Ladies for Gay Rights standing up for others in their community. Women have been shit upon and pushed around since the beginning of time so look out –  the Church Ladies got your back!

[ CLICK ON IMAGES + ]

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San Jose Ave in San Francisco Has Been Paved

Regular readers of this journal have noticed that I get a bit ornery about the poor state of San Francisco roads. How is it that a city that has a massive budget has streets that are in such ill-repair? It is one thing if you are in a car or Google Bus dodging potholes, but on a bike you sometimes head for the sidewalks just for personal safety. I wonder how many bikers have ended up in the emergency room after taking a spill from a pot hole. OK. I shall stop my rant as progress has been made!!!

After a few years the endless infrastructure upgrades (I have a feeling some of the sewer pipes down there are new) and maybe gas pipes (they do not really tell you) the road on San Jose Ave was completely repaved and the temporary lines drawn. Man this great!. I actually thought they were taking so long because they were doing secret archaeology of a long lost native tribe, perhaps under under Fairmount Elementary School.

I find it strange that Mayor Lee was not around to cut  a ribbon as this street is literally one of the main entrances from the south into the  San Francisco. In many places the lines are now just a scribble, like they were drawn by a drunk but eventually they will make them all pretty. I know the program.

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Skiing on June 15th in the Sierra Nevada Mountains

UPDATE: February 21, 2026

Going up into the mountains is always a leap of fate. There are wild animals like bears, steep drop-offs, fast moving rivers, freezing temperatures and in the winter avalanches. Castle Peak at Donner Summit is at once a wild place and also one that is a stones-throw from civilization as the hum of Interstate 80 is often heard in the distance. Cell service is strong. You have to venture a few miles from this major thoroughfare to enjoy the silence that makes these places magical.

 

I have skied up to “The Castle” many times. I remember well the first time skinning up past Andesite Peak and to the saddle. A young Sierra Club dame leading the way as we traded off breaking the trail. The snow was deep. The skies were clear. Eventually we made it back down.

 

In January 2017 after a huge dump we did ski up to the saddle.   The weather looked  to be turning so we headed down the safe way, sticking close to the trees. 2016-17 was a big snow year with totals over 500 inches. On that trip all the resorts were closed for days. Mostly we skied the backside of Signal Peak.

 

Signal Peak by Donner Summit - January 2017
Signal Peak by Donner Summit – January 2017

 

Signal Peak by Donner Summit - January 2017
Signal Peak by Donner Summit – January 2017

 

Castle Peak at Donner Summit - January 2017
Castle Peak at Donner Summit – January 2017

 

It is with a heavy heart I heard about the recent tragedy at Castle Peak. In terms of doing this trip late in the year, generally the risk of avalanche is slight. The snow that is left has settled. the biggest danger (by far) are the many fast-moving snowmelt rivers that run under the snow and ice. These are deep and cold, unpredictable, fast and are often like tunnels. If you fall into one of those, you may have a major problem. Just a heads up.

Now to the post in 2017:

I have always wanted to ski late in the year during a big snow year. 2017 was that year. It is a truly amazing experience to hike up and ski off the top of a mountain in 70 degree weather. The sun bright and hot. The snow hard but not yet slushy in the morning.

We made our way up to the top of this undisclosed mountain along the Pacific Crest Trail. A mile in we ran into a group of six hikers with packs. As usual custom along hiking trails we stopped and drank some water and chatted a bit. These were six people hiking the PCT all the way from Mexico to Canada. They had all started out doing the hike solo but formed a group over time. One person from Oregon. Another from Albuquerque. Another from Israel and another from New York. I asked them if they could let me know one of their most essential tools in their pack. Something they value most of all and could not do without. They first said what all people who backpack say. “Just too much shit. You do not need much in the end.”  Then they stood and pondered and then one of the older hikers said, “You pack your fears. If you are afraid of being thirsty, you carry too much water. If you fear hunger, you pack too much food. If you are afraid of being cold, you pack too many clothes.” Some heavy trail knowledge – just in the nick of time.

“You pack your fears. If you are afraid of being thirsty, you carry too much water. If you fear hunger, you pack too much food. If you are afraid of being cold, you pack too many clothes.”

Hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail

We kept heading up the mountain. At times using skins and skis. At other times hiking straight up. We made it to the top and ate lunch. The top of the mountain is a unusual place. Life was exploding with bugs, birds, rodents, birds and butterflies. 9100 feet. At one point  a tiger swallowtail butterfly cruises by and you have to wonder what she is doing at the top of the world.

Here are some photos from that magical day.

[CLICK ON IMAGES]

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The 10th Anniversary of the Google Content Id System – BETA forever…

Photos is from the failed Ernest Shackleton voyage to the South Pole.   Sometimes it is just really hard and you get stuck.

Just putting this out there for the technology trades that the Google Content ID project has remained in BETA for 10  years. Man, I have worked at some slow projects in the software world, but 10 years! Hello people in the white buses…

Google (Alphabet, Inc.) has poured resources into automated cars, artificial intelligence, buses to ferry workers back and forth to San Francisco, gender qualifying in movies (creepy stuff), a more cryptic privacy policy and better marketing tools and analytics… but God forbid they get Content ID out of BETA. No money to be made there.

June 14, 2017 – 10 year anniversary! 

Google Content ID project has remained in BETA.

NUMBER OF DAYS content identification tools for YouTube HAS BEEN IN BETA

[getdays]

Why does this matter? The YouTube/Google Content ID is how Google pays the band. If you make it appear that you do not know the band even exists, then there is no one to pay and all the money just goes into Googles bank account. Brilliant plan for Google. Because of how the 1998 DMCA was written, there is no way (except for endless take-down notices) to get your work off of YouTube. For musicians, bands and artists – Google in the end is your master and owns you. My condolences.

“Imagine a business model where you are given all of the music publishing content for the last hundred years for free. After you build the initial interface, you basically do not have to do anything. The system is set up so that users and fans just give you content even though they have no rights to the ownership of that content. With much of this illegal content you garner about 50% of all advertisement revenue generated by that content. This can go on indefinitely. Sounds like there is no way you can fail. You will make billions off this stuff. YouTube just laughs all the all the way to the bank.”

Anonymous

BETA [bey-tuh or, esp. British, bee-] adj.
A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to try under real conditions.
– PC Magazine Encyclopedia

At what point will the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) of 1998 ever make it into the news? It is the basis of our digital world and the piracy it created was/is a huge giveaway from the creative class to the tech class.

from a few years back….

https://sfjournal.net/blog/digital-millennium-copyright-act-18-year-anniversary/

https://sfjournal.net/blog/breaking-news-after-over-8-years-googles-content-id-system-is-still-in-beta/

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News from San Francisco

People are making some sick money around here! I was walking down the street in SOMA and all these hundred and thousand dollar bills came flying out of  this Audi sports car and they just keep driving.

— Anonymous conversation overheard on the streets of San Francisco – 2017

The tents with the homeless surviving inside sort of move around and play musical chairs with the freeway on-ramps. That has not changed in the last 5 years. The road repair in San Francisco sometimes means that the streets start talking another language, especially when riding a bike.

What road repair can do to messages..

The season has turned from spring to  summer.  The fog is beginning to roll in and we head to the coast only at opportune times. Morning low tide is the best in the summer. If you land in San Francisco at SFO and head north up Interstate 101 in the afternoon, during summer the fog will dance with hills like two tango dancers. An amazing sight. Gives you hope that the house is not completely burning down. If the heat becomes unbearable out there on the plains, you can cool down here on the coast. Like winter in the Midwest a time to watch the weather report and nourish the few sunny days. By July 4th the fireworks will as usual be obscured by the fog.

Below are some photos from March and April 2017…

  • The parking lots are falling into the ocean. This is from March when the waves were better.
  • Two pickers at Sunday Streets on Valencia
  • People are making some much money around here, I was walking down the street and all these thousand dollar bills came flying out of Audi sports car.
  • Radio Havana on Valencia
  • Looking down Ocean

CLICK ON IMAGES +

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The Virgin Guadalupe and I

The Virgin Guadalupe and I

8/11/2006 9:13:38 AM

It was a rather ordinary August afternoon in San Marcos, Guatemala. The sky was beginning to fill with the usual afternoon clouds that would soon make for scattered showers that are so common this time of year. I  was going about town with Lucia, my seven-year-old daughter, doing some errands – a spool of white thread, socks, stop at the supermarket for the usual. Suddenly I saw her. She saw me. Our eyes met and I knew at that moment I had to have her. Her hands were together as though in prayer, and out from the crowded street, she called my name.

“Pablo, how are you these days? I need to speak with you. The matter is urgent.”

I quickly looked around, wondering whom it was that had spoken, when I suddenly realized it was she – the poster of The Virgin Guadalupe. Among the other tacky posters around, two puppy dogs with some corny slogan in beveled font, Don Johnson next to a Mustang looking so cool, she stood out as something of exquisite beauty and value.

“I am fine Guadalupe. And why do you inquire?”

“In the last five hundred years, after my meeting with Juan, we have built thousands of fine temples, and given peace and joy to the down trodden and suffering.”

“I know, there are many fine churches throughout the land now. They ring their bells early and late. Is this something that you can help me with? It often wakes me early in the morning, especially on the weekends. I believe it is recorded bells too, which I find cheap and disingenuous.”

“I hear you clearly my dear Pablo. I find it strange that the bells never make a mistake as well. If they are recorded, the least they could do is play in tune. I will do what I can.”

“But I am speaking to you now as merely a friend. I need your help. I have listened to the weeping, the sadness, the troubles and miseries of the people of this downtrodden land for five hundred years, and to be perfectly honest, I am a bit tired and depressed. Take me home with you.”

“You seem to be a person of great quality but I have never brought someone of your stature home. I think it would also make my wife a bit uncomfortable… you know another woman in the house and all.”

“My dear friend Pablo, I am a virgin and I intend to stay that way. Your wife should not worry. Besides I promise that I will just blend into the wall as best as I can.”

“But what of that little cherubic kid at your feet? Does he have to come along too?”

“Yes, he is my son. The Son of God. I fear waiting here in the bus station any longer will not be good for his health. You see he is not breathing too well the last few days. The fumes from all the buses are affecting his asthma. To be quite frank, because of all the noise, he has missed his nap all week and has been a real pill. He bugs me constantly for suckers and candy from all the venders who pass by. I do not think I can last much longer. Besides that, this Don Johnson guy next to me is really getting on my nerves. He thinks he’s soooooo cool. What an ego!”

“But I thought you were a virgin? Is your son adopted?”

“No he is not adopted. It is a long story and something that Joe, my former husband and I, have had to try to explain so many times… it is complicated. But do not fear. I am a woman of great quality and believe me, a virgin.”

Lucia and I stood on the narrow sidewalk and were truly captivated by the beauty of Guadalupe. We tried to ignore her pleas and walked away more than once, only to be called back by some sort of magical force. She had cast a spell on us. We had to have her. She seemed to be a work of art, unlike no other, in this culture-starved city.

We asked her master what was her price, thinking that perhaps she was holding our dear Guadalupe hostage, and would suggest an outrageous ransom. “Ten quetzals” she replied. I was astonished. A little over a dollar and I could free my new friend and her child from their misery.

As we walked home with Guadalupe rolled up, she continued to speak to me. “Pablo, thank you so much. I promise to look after you and your family. You know that nasty stomach infection you had. It was the water. Always brush your teeth with the bottled stuff. I promise, it won’t happen again.”

When we got home, we let Guadalupe have some space by herself at the end of the hall. She now looks after us daily. Her little kid who always hangs out at her feet no longer whines and is reading Mark Twain for a change. We all feel the arrangement is just grand.

From The Pelican Café Essays from Guatemala

The Pelican Café Essays
from Guatemala
By Paul Lyons
Available as Paperback for $10.00

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