Tales of Seven

Santacon 2009

A wash of red and white. A swarm over Union Square, down Chestnut Street and through the Mission. Hundreds of Santas appeared out of cars and taxis and from every direction off the streets to join in the fray. The San Francisco Santacon -- a jolly, annual santa-driven pub crawl that is not to be missed!

Wanna Be Designer

...playing with ideas for a new back deck and landscaping using just pieces of copied pictures and paintbrush. It's fun to imagine what can be through pictures, even if they're rough!

 

Road Trip in a '68 Pontiac

Our weekend trip to Bolinas in a 1968 Pontiac Convertible...

Saturday at Crissy Field

 

happy holidays, everyone!

On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen.... on Comet...

A collection of reindeer in celebration of the holidays. Next up, we add the antlers.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Fall Walk at Crissy Field

Three dogs tumblingracingcolliding and bursting with dog-getic energy. Pounding paws.

Charlie-brown-Christmas-tree of dogs. Tuft of hair here, maybe there. Scruff.

A slow crawl red-capped swimmer. Bare skin to freezing water. Patient pace.

A lone clump of flowers. All faces turning east.

Blades of drying seaweed rustling in the wind. 

Bright white birds huddling down into wet sand, tide rising.

Scarf wraps round four times. Snug.

A Fall walk at Crissy Field

 

     

More From the 31st Floor

Images of San Francisco at night from 31 stories above the deck. Moon rising. Silent rush of activity below.

     

Sailing on the Akela

We had the good fortune to be invited for a friends & family sailing trip on the Akela this past week. An 80 foot sailboat, typically out on the water for races, it was a rare experience to be on it for a day. Here are a few short clips from our trip on the Bay.

A lot of hustle as we tack upwind... The rush of water as we pick up speed ... and a clip of Nancy steering us from Alcatraz to the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

Image to Sound

I recently heard this song on the radio driving home, and as always, first heard it without perceiving the words... just absorbing the melody and momentum.

It felt like a city night.

It felt like driving with the top down.

It felt like street lights passing overhead in time to the beat.

(A collection of pictures of San Francisco at night that felt the same....)

Lara Croft Costume Recipe (Tomb Raider Costume)

Halloween is approaching and this year I'll be pulling out Lara Croft from the movie Tomb Raider again. 2 parts leather, 2 parts black, and some serious weaponry, here is a recipe for the Lara Croft Costume.

Black It Out: The clothing is the easy part. Pick up any short, black fitted yoga shorts and any form-fitting sleeveless, black T-shirt (best found in athletic stores)

1 Pair of A** Kicker Boots:  Order early for shipment from the UK. Exchange rates get you down? Go local with tall military-style boots that lace. This was the priciest part of my costume.

2 Thigh Holsters w/Guns: Serious attitude. Upside of these ones? These guns look realistic. Downside? They look realistic. These are fine at house parties but you might get disarmed in public places as I did.

1 Belt/Belt Buckle: Any 2" wide heavy duty black belt with large metal grommets will work. Add the signature skull belt buckle from any online replica store.

1 Leather Cuff: A leather wrist cuff with buckles adds a dash of 'don't mess with me'.

The Backpack: The original backpack is leather. I bought a children's black nylon pack from Target... 'nough said.

The Hair: I tried a wig...got a witch. I tried black hair dye... got a sad vampire. Solution? I bought hair extensions matched to my color and braided them into my hair.

 

Also see a recipe for the Leeloo Costume from the movie 'The 5th Element'.