text:
The Big L.C

Today, I had a bit of an epiphany. While out for lunch celebrating my sister’s Leaving Cert results, as I realized what was going on around me, I finally saw the funny side of how my life is panning out at the moment. Pretty funking funny. To me, at least. Laugh at, laugh with, laughable? There is no other way to look at it, just as long as some sort of laughing is involved. Especially when it seems like you are having lunch in what felt like an old folk’s home. For whatever reason, besides my parents, sister and myself, the rest of the clientele at the restaurant in the hotel were O.A.P’s. A few were just dozing off while eating their food. Conversations were trailing off into the wilderness. People were saying hello and goodbye to the same people every two minutes, perhaps forgetting that they had just met.

Immediately I got flashbacks of my Spring Break fiasco, where I stayed in a similar style old folk’s home/hotel in Mexico. Big difference being, it was Mexico, and only short term. At the moment, this is my life! And will be for another few weeks. I am dining with retired folk, discussing the lovely beef, admiring the fine portions they gave us. It has yet to make an appearance, but surely gardening will be on my to-do list soon enough. All jokes aside, if you were to ask me on the day I got my Leaving Cert results, would I be in this situation now, I would have probably laughed. And said hopefully, yes. Please God. Good to know that my life plan is on track!

In a similar vein, last Thursday a buddy was down in Cork for a night from Dublin. We mulled over the thought of going out on that night. Even though we wouldn’t be in town until 12 bells (it was a late idea), for a while we half fooled ourselves that something amazing might potentially happen. However, do you know what swayed me to stay in… ? My Mum asking me would I like a cup of tea! My buddy was just after sending me a text, saying he was 50/50 about going out, my call. What to do? Which do I choose? A cup of tea? Or a night out in Cork? Best case scenario for option B “Yeah, it was grand”. Or, a nice cup of tea, which you know will not disappoint? Easy option, tea on!

Anyways, the epiphany did me good today. I can’t help but laugh, and look forward to see what else springs out from my current daily way of life. My sense of humour is back fully I do believe. Which helped in my daily work today. The work of studying sitcoms, unlocking their formula, and using them to improve upon what I have done for my one so far. As far as I remember, that too would have been on the tip of my tongue the day I got my Leaving Cert results, if you had asked me what I’d be up to in a few years time.

Wrapping up, seeing as I am going up to do stand-up in Dublin again tomorrow, I needed to work on new material. Otherwise I was just going to go with a rant about the current state of Irish radio. Which would have been great. Thankfully, the seeds for new material are kind of above, in case you were wondering. Probably not. The train ride up tomorrow will be used to plump them out. Throw in pointless cursing too for some reason. And, obviously I’ll be adding in the really funny parts and hilarious punch lines then as well. I held them back. Obviously. Re de de, I am looking forward to bombing on stage, it has been far too long!

Song on, after the hectic and frantic pace of that blogaruu, a more chilled affair…

Banjo Or Freakout

Upside Down – Banjo Or Freakout

And secondly, a magnificent opening beat…

Vampire Weekend

Ottoman – Vampire Weekend

4 thoughts on “The Big L.C

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Tough Life at Sea…

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Here be an article I wrote that was in the Examiner last week. Front page too. Wuu.

Ways to Go – Grouplove

Imagine you are a fish, swimming in an ocean filled to the brim with other fish who are a lot like you but better in many ways. And instead of not wanting to be caught, you, the fish, are desperate to be reeled in by the fisherman. “Cast me, cast me!” you plead with your eyes as the fisherman toys with you in his net. “To keep and cast or to be thrown back in the ocean with all the other duds?” the fisherman asks himself as he examines you up and down like a piece of meat. Imagine all that – Welcome to the wonderful world of Hollywood auditions!

So you’re out one night in a Hollywood bar. You meet a manager. He nods and laughs at all your jokes. Hypes you up to yourself. “You should be in this, in that, in all of those!” Interesting, you nod back, ignoring the fact this manager has already introduced you to people as “My new client from Finland” and “Hottest comedian in Iceland!” Ignore that. Just focus on the large sums of money he mentioned you would get for little work, if you get the part. So you nod your head and go along for the ride. (Pretty sure that’s how many people end up in porn.)

My first audition was to be the face of a well-known rum beverage. This would’ve involved being paid ridiculous money to be flown down to Rio de Janeiro for the shoot (two days work), followed by the chance to do a series of them all over the world. How bad.

They’re looking for a guy who could do a Scottish accent. I can do that, ochaye cannae wee one! Something along those lines. Also looking for a guy who looks like he might be in Highlander or Gladiator. Hmm. Stretching it but we’ll see. Asked if I could wear a kilt and a tight t-shirt to the audition. No kilt, so shorts on. No tight-tight t-shirt, so normal will have to do. Good start.

Off I go. Find the casting house hidden in Hollywood. Stroll into the waiting room full of high hopes only to see the whole place is full of better looking versions of me, each person with a physical feature that makes them look like you, just after going a round with a plastic surgeon. Must be how cows feel penned in with genetically modified cows.

Chiseled chins. Broader shoulders. Better postures. Perfect smiles. Twinkle in the eye. All muttering to themselves “I believe in the power of feeling – I got this. I believe in the power of feeling – I got this. I believe in the power of feeling – I got this. ” Over and over. Non-stop. Place is an odd mix of desperation and good looks. Happy smiles. Broken eyes. It’s a great environment to be in really. Especially when you have no clue what’s going on.

Stand. Sit. Wait. Feel like a fish out of water. A door opens. Casting director comes out, followed by one guy who looks like he just stepped out of a Calvin Klein ad and another guy who just stepped off the set of the movie 300. Calvin Klein guy is putting back on his top. Hmm. That’s weird. Director calls out my name. In I go. Hear another name. Apparently we’ve been paired up. Calvin’s twin brother is called in as well. Oh great.

So we’re in the audition room. Grey. White. Modern. Well lit. Casting director runs through the gibber for the ad.

“We’ll have you sit here. Pretend you’re getting a tattoo. Stand there. Pretend this is happening. Girls are eyeing you up. Salute back. Smile. Done. Sound good? It does. Great.”

So I stand on an X on the ground. Start saying my name to the camera. As I do, the casting director shouts out,

“Guys, forgot to say, t-shirts off please.”

Calvin next to me whips his off instantly, steroid chiseled body looking like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. Good for you, Calvin. I’m still standing there asking myself why I’ve never considered pectoral implants before now and also what the funk am I doing here again? As if he can read my mind the casting director shouts out,

“So you guys know the pay, right?”

“And if you’re picked you have a valid passport that will let you travel to Brazil and around the world? Gotta love the beach commercials.”

Well when he puts it like that… Off comes the top. Down at the Copa, Copacabana starts playing in my head. Beach on! Although now I feel like a right old piece of meat. Look over at Calvin. He’s been working out his whole life for this. I’ve been boozing all last night not knowing this. Try to adjust my posture. Shoulders up. Shoulders out. Shoulders in? Shoulders back? Can’t remember. Exhale and slump. Shoulders down. And – “ACTION!”

So we sit in the chairs. Pretend like we’re getting a tattoo done but too cool to show the pain. Then stand. Now we’re blagging our way into a bar. Topless. Then walk over to the bar. Pick up the two glasses filled with fake booze. Look around. See a couple of girls checking us out. Look over at them (the thermostat on the wall). Smile. Salute our glasses. This is great.

Casting director wants to do a close up on me smiling. “Smile subtly but impress them but don’t be too cool but show you’re interested.” Oh right. I know that look exactly. Great direction. Give some sort of a smile. Says the same to Calvin next to me. Calvin adds in a couple of pec shrugs. I try to make my nipples move in sync but no joy. Calvin might have the edge.

Director asks me to do a bigger smile now this time. “Still be cool. But not too cool. Mid cool.” OK? Smile. “Bigger, more teeth.” OK. Cheesy grin. “BIGGER MARK, SHOW ME THE TEETH.” OK! Like a horse flashing his choppers, I push and grind and smile and flash and spit teeth at him. It’s a horrendous smile, what I like to call my paedophile smile. Awkward. Pained. Topless. Face is hurting me. And, we’re done. Thanks? No thanks, OK.

Out the door we go. Standing half-naked in a corridor. All the other fish looking back at me in disgust. Mighty. Dress myself and run off out the door crying. Still waiting for the call back but I think I got it (I believe in the power of feeling). Looking forward to Rio.

Since then all my auditions have followed a similar theme. Today, for example, I had three. One for a Strongbow Cider campaign. One as “Irish guy” on the sitcom New Girl. And one as “Awkward guy at a threesome”. This town knows me well. Typecast on.

Still yet to ever actually get any of these parts but that’s not the point. The point is that I needed to figure out what casting is all about. See, I’ve been shooting a pilot presentation for my own show RanDumb: The Adventures of an Irish Guy in L.A. Which means that now, the fish has become the fisherman. There’s a twist in the tale.

I must say, it’s very tough being the fisherman. You’d be surprised at how many good-looking actresses love fishermen, at least the Hollywood kind. So as a wise fish once said: Cast on!

Let’s Stick Together – Bryan Ferry

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Endless War, Leaks, Middle East, Military, POTUS

Hillary Clinton’s Emails Reveal Bush, Blair & Powell Plotting Iraq War A Year Before Invasion

The release of Hillary Clinton’s emails have unintentionally leaked documents showing George Bush and Tony Blair’s push for war in the Middle East. One memo from then Secretary of State Colin Powell to Bush says “Blair will be with us… the UK will follow our lead.” The second document indicates a source within the United Kindom’s Labour Party informing the US Embassy on sentiment toward military action against Iraq from within the party.

Daily Mail

A bombshell White House memo has revealed for the first time details of the ‘deal in blood’ forged by Tony Blair and George Bush over the Iraq War.
The sensational leak shows that Blair had given an unqualified pledge to sign up to the conflict a year before the invasion started.
It flies in the face of the Prime Minister’s public claims at the time that he was seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
He told voters: ‘We’re not proposing military action’ – in direct contrast to what the secret email now reveals.

The documents, obtained by The Mail on Sunday, are part of a batch of secret emails held on the private server of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton which U.S. courts have forced her to reveal.

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About Vince

I am a Tlingit, born and raised in Tlingit Country, and a proud member of the Tlingit Nation.

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Venus Williams' post-match interview.....Interesting

Discussion in 'General Pro Player Discussion' started by Andy Zarzuela, Jun 10, 2006.

  1. Andy Zarzuela

    Andy Zarzuela Professional

    Feb 21, 2004
    A lot of people on here talk about how Venus and Serena are very bitter in defeat. I thought I'd post her interview just to show you that doesn't apply to Venus. Granted when she was younger, she was a bit more bitter in defeat, but that's about how everyone is when they are new and upcomers. Now she's a class act. With that said, I think she can win Wimbledon again.

    Q. You've been able to dig out of trouble in previous matches here? What was different today?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: I had a decent first set. Had a slow start, I think. She just played really good tennis. Seems to be on a roll. She was making some great shots. She just was the better player today.

    Q. Did you tire at all in the third set?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: No, no. I didn't tire. In fact, no. Actually, I didn't tire. That's the answer (smiling).

    Q. What do you suppose went wrong with your groundstrokes at the end? Just not having played enough or...

    VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, it's so close to the end of the match, it's hard just to say exactly at this moment. You can believe I'll watch the film and figure out, you know, the things I didn't do right.

    Like I said, she played well. She deserved to win.

    Q. You went up several times, but had problems with the volleys.

    VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I missed a few volleys today that most certainly would have helped my cause to make those. At the end of ‑‑ at the scheme of things, sometimes a few shots do make the difference. I think it was just the big picture today and not necessarily little, tiny things.

    Q. Talk a bit about her game. You played her a year ago.

    Q. How has she developed? What do you see as her possibilities?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: I would say she's a lot more consistent than last year. I would say I definitely faced the same game as last year; she's just a lot more consistent.

    Q. You hit a lot of first serves in play at the end of that match. She got a lot of them back. Were you trying to go to a certain part of her game and attack her in a certain place?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: I was trying to bring my level up, get some more serves in, obviously get some easy points from the serve. So, that was just me just trying to do what was right.

    Q. Were you surprised how well she returned some of those?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, sometimes it's just about getting the ball in play. I don't think like hitting missiles. But sometimes, you know, just miss‑hits but they went in. You got to keep the ball in play and she did a good job of doing that.

    Q. What will you do between now and Wimbledon?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: Just work harder. Obviously I'm disappointed. I would have loved to have done better. During this last six weeks, I had a lot of challenges, you know, physically that I was able to overcome just to be here today. I'm proud of that from me and also from my team, to help me to be here.

    I just want to just get stronger and just get better. You know, I'm doing better. I can practice my serve a lot more. Obviously, at Wimbledon you'll see more consistency on that with my arm doing better and that kind of thing. Yeah, that's what I'll do, I'll be better every time.

    Q. Do you think having missed part of the start of the year that you'll be comparatively fresh for Wimbledon this year?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: That's a good way of putting it. I would have loved to have been playing this whole year. I mean, I want to be playing now. I want to be playing next week. I'll go home, prepare in the same way for Wimbledon as I've done these last I don't know how many years. So I'll get ready at home.

    Q. Will you draw comfort from the fact you played a lot better year this year than last year, yet you went to Wimbledon and won the tournament? It's a nice memory to have, isn't it?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: I guess so, if you want to put it that way (laughter). Yeah, that's a positive way of looking at it, yes. Thank you. Made my day.

    Q. Wimbledon it was such an extraordinary moment. Do you think you can do it again and what would it mean to you?

    VENUS WILLIAMS: I would love to do it again, obviously. It's a tournament I love to win. What would it mean? It would mean that I won back to back. Obviously, every single player is vying to win Wimbledon. Anyway, yeah, I want to do it. That's the simple answer.

    Q. The last time we talked to you here, you were the lone carrier of the flag for the US. Now do you feel that you're carrying the Williams flag? Serena is not around. You're the only shot here.

    VENUS WILLIAMS: No, that really doesn't enter my mind per se when I'm out there playing or practicing or training.

    Q. I don't mean when you're practicing or training. I mean just a general thought: there's going to be a Williams at Wimbledon somehow.

    VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, not necessarily, no. I guess I get wrapped up in self a little too much. Maybe I should think that way.
  2. Bones08

    Bones08 Professional

    Jan 16, 2006
    Venus is great. She does a lot for the charities and her fans, and she's a nice woman. I couldn't help but see a little Venus across the net against Nicole Vaidisova. If you read Nicole's interview she says "I loved her(Venus) game, that backhand is amazing! Well, you believe me when I tell you that Nick Bolleterri gave her the Venus backhand stroke. It's almost the exat stroke, open stance and everything. Great Interview by Vee, a lot of people won't write in this post because they don't like to see or hear the good from Vee, but they are quick to jump on her for what they see as the bad.
  3. federerhoogenbandfan

    federerhoogenbandfan Banned

    Mar 5, 2005
    I did not say the Williams were bitter in defeat. I said alot of their fans are. They mock the player who beat them and belittle and demean their abilities to make themselves feel better.

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I Have A Technology Problem

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It’s true.

I have a technology problem.

In particular, a high technology problem.

I told you I would not be buying the first generation iPad. I gave you several reasons why I wouldn’t.

But late yesterday afternoon, it was like another entity took over my person, got in my car, and drove to the nearest Best Buy.

Once there, I walked directly to the Apple section of the store and started playing with an iPad.

Then, I started asking the sales guy a bunch of questions about synching it with my various Mac computers, the service plans, etc.

Before you know it, I was into a full on bender, waltzing through the iPad peripherals section as if I didn’t have a care in the world. I played with the wireless keyboard, the new iPad dock, some carrying cases.

This was gonna be bad.

Then, ready to pull out my Best Buy card, I discovered that they had no iPads in stock.

You’re kidding me, right? I’m like tech sleepwalking here. I’m like coming straight here, a man possessed, ready to buy, and you’re telling me you don’t have any iPads in stock!!??

The fourteen-year old, pimply sales dude told me to hold on, he had one more idea: He called back to the stockroom.

It was my lucky day. My technology addiction would be sated.

There was a single 64GB WiFi iPad that had been returned.

As in uno.

Did I want it?

Are you kidding me? Does a thirsty man crawling through the Mojave want a bottle of cold Evian?!!

Better yet, I discovered I was going to get $50 off because somebody had returned it.

Why did they return it? I wondered to myself.

Who cares! It was the only iPad for sale for miles around, and they were over a week away from getting anymore in stock!

And I had one, in my hands!

Take that, Mac fanboys! I won!!

For good measure, I also bought a cool carrying case and the little iPad dock, paid my tab, and drove straight home.

Once back in my domicile, I turned on the iPad, glared at the gorgeous glossy iPad screen, and promptly wondered aloud to myself what the heck I was going to do with this thing.

Who cares what the heck I’m going to do with it!?

I finally have an iPad and it’s the coolest piece of technology I’ve ever bought!

Blogger’s Note: This blog post was written using my brand new iPad, so at least one utilitarian purpose has now been uncovered since it’s recent acquisition.  I will keep you posted as to other useful uses also discovered after the fact.

Written by turbotodd

May 27, 2010 at 10:03 pm

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  1. At&t just killed the unlimited data plan. This is a iPad/iPhone killer for me. Overcharging for network bandwidth has got to be the number one inhibitor for using these types of devices effectively. Imagine having to download ONE movie from iTunes (1.5gb in size min) and having to pay $14.99 for the movie and then having to pay $25 dollars to download that movie over a 3G network! And in doing so eat up almost all of your monthly allotment of bandwidth!
    If you use it just to blog then I guess no impact, but if you want to expand to a more converged device usage then life starts to suck.

    June 2, 2010 at 8:17 pm

  2. […] I mentioned in the original post “I Have A Technology Problem,” I had no real need for an iPad.  For the record, I own three Mac computers (one iMac, a […]

  3. […] I mentioned in the original post "I Have a Technology Problem," I had no real need for an iPad.  For the record, I own three Mac computers (one iMac, a […]

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The Problem With Internet TV (OTT) and Child Protection – Not all Parents Care!

Interestingly we are finally seeing the truth about Internet based TV (OTT): It is just another form of PayTV on an unregulated transmission medium, dah! dah!  Sorry about that but it is nothing earth shattering; however it finally has people writing about this obvious fact.   The ‘do-it-yourself’ package is described in this recent Advanced Television article: Cord Cutting Unrealistic Option is seen as probably costing even more for a consumer than a packaged payTV Operator offer.  Not only that, the author Colin Mann quotes Alan Wolk of TDG who states that there is no ‘User Interface’ that makes for a cohesive and pleasant experience.  In a previous blog post Changing the transmission media not the business model I had already highlighted the issues of more or at least same cost and clearly noted the backwards move in terms of experience.  However there is another very important issue, which has not been addressed by the ‘oracles’ of the future of TV and that is ‘unregulated access to content’.  Most DIY bundles have Apps that require access to Internet content – There is no Age Verification required.  That is an oversight in a very mobile, smartphone driven society.  So I have also been wondering when the ‘Do-it-yourself’ payTV bundle and free for all access might come under the scrutiny of the Regulators for both Consumer and Child Protection issues?

I already see that my very young children are exposed to some terrible things via the increasingly pornographic Internet, via Twitter feeds, via search engines etc.  Now that TV is a watch what-you-want-when-you-want experience on the Internet it requires parents to be careful –  The so called ‘watershed’ does not exist on the Internet and there appears to be no regulation apart from personal parental control, which has to set on a myriad of channels, devices and websites – BUT ISN’T.   That is almost a full time job in this mobile-free-for-all-do-it-yourself-media-world.  I happen to care!  I try to protect my offspring as much as possible from the gratuitous violence, sex and ever increasing psychopathic, narcissistic media offerings… (e.g. Walter White toy figures for sale at Toys-R-US).  However, I am fighting against adversity, especially if my 12 year-old is exposed to shows like ‘Breaking Bad’ as well as a myriad of free ‘Porn’ on a classmates smartphone browser at school.  I cannot supervise every moment of my son’s viewing habits outside of the home…and we happily tout OTT (Internet TV) as an in and out of the home experience.  We are also told that youngsters don’t watch Big Screen TV anymore – So where is the protection for the young, the vulnerable and the stupid in this mobile-free-for-all-do-it-yourself-media-world?

Not all parents care what their children are exposed to that is why we have regulation.  The regulators should be ahead of the game and not late like they have been with Music Videos, finally realizing that they should be ‘rated’.  In 2015 that is very, very late … Listening to my very, very young daughter signing ‘I wanna Sex You Up’, now exposed to ‘twerking’ – This is just not right!  We have a constant battle to keep them well grounded and not let their malleable minds be damaged.  I am not a prude and we have a healthy open relationship with the kids, but I cannot be the good parent if all around me doesn’t care and exposes them to the ever failing controls of the world’s what-you-want-when-you-want media access.

Why TV shows that contain Drugs, Sex, Bigotry and Violence on the Internet be treated any different to that on Broadcast TV is beyond me!


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Hotels in Zalasárszeg

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Hotels in Lake Lonsdale

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Uke Tunes

Uke-ifying my favourite songs

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Let Your Yeah Be Yeah – The Pioneers

So reggae took me a long time to get. Yes, I’ve had a copy of Bob Marley’s Legend for ever, and occassionaly the odd reggae song broke through as a pop hit. But that’s as far as it went. Then a few years ago, having got a little bored with a whole host of my usual musical tastes, I made a concerted effort to “get” into reggae. Spotify, and a bunch of days spent working alone at home, was my saviour. And with a bit of effort it all finally clicked.

One thing I like about reggae is the rawness of sound and attitude, something that – for all it’s wonderfulness – was a little lost in the music of Bob Marley. There’s a real punk spirit to a lot of reggae, that pre-dates the punk revolution of 1976/7, born in part from an outsider attitude and an anti-establishment mind-set. Interestingly, though, there was a real affinity for those original punks with reggae. DJs like Don Letts often played reggae between sets at punk gigs, and that cross-fertalisation spread into the music of some of the punk bands (The Clash’s cover of Police and Thieves being an obvious example). And then there was the whole Two-Tone movement, a blissful amalgam of punk and ska (a more up-beat version of reggae). There’s a good article here on the links between the punk and reggae.

The Pioneers were a vocal trio from Jamaica, formed in the early 60s, and were amongst the first wave of reggae bands to score international (i.e. UK!) success in the late 60s and early 70s. Their first hit was with Long Shot Kick De Bucket (later covered by The Specials), but Let Your Yeah Be Yeah, a cover of a Jimmy Cliff song, was their biggest hit, peaking at #5 in the UK singles charts in 1971.

[As an aside, I can highly recommend the following compilations if you want to move beyond the obvious into the treasures of reggae; Scratchy Sounds (Ska, Dub, Roots & Reggae nuggets), and Tighten Up! Trojan Reggae Classics (although admitidily not at the prices Amazon seem to be selling them for!).]

And so to the song sheet. A few words of explanation I think are required for this one. Firstly the chords. I originally did a version of the song in an easier key (G). But I subsequently realised that playing it in the original key works much better. Putting aside that I find it easier to sing in that key (Bb), having to use barre chords really helps to get the reggae feel for the song – it means that you can get the choppy rhythms much better because you can dampen all the strings when you need to. So the chord diagrams in the sheet represent the barre-chords that I think work best with this.

Secondly, there is the rhythm. I’m not going to give a lesson on how to play reggae here. Suffice to say that your best bet is to listen to the song, and get the feel from that. Basically I play it as a d-u-d-u rhythm all the way through, BUT with the first of those beats (the first down beat) dampened – i.e. with the fingers forming the chord shape on the strings, but not actually pressing down on the fret, AND the last down beat being clipped (i.e. the fingers lifting off the frets – but staying on the strings – almost as soon as the stroke has been completed). Listen to the song and have a play around and you’ll get the hang it.

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Tears Of A Clown – The Beat

It’s been something of an ’80s nostalgia-fest here of late hasn’t it. Sorry about that, but I guess these songs were from my formative years musically and so have a special resonance for me. And look, here comes another one pounding down the tracks. And before anybody starts, yes, I do know that this is a cover of the great Smokey Robinson song. But as with my earlier post of Dear Prudence, it’s the early 80s cover version that is my frame of reference for this song. And whilst I do like the Smokey Robinson original, the energy and drive of The Beat’s version is what makes it for me. The Beat (or English Beat, as they got named in the US) came to prominence as part of the Two-Tone movement in the late 1970s. Two-Tone took sounds that originated in Jamaica (rocksteady, ska, reggae), mixed it with the energy and attitude of punk and new wave, and sprinkled it liberally with a political conscience, creating a truly grass-roots, cross-cultural movement. Bands like The Specials, Madness, and Selector were all part of the scene, and The Beat were there right from the beginning. Tears of  a Clown was their début (and sole Two-Tone) single, reached the UK top 10 in early 1980. The Beat split in 1983 after just three albums. However the band have reformed, although now exist in two versions – one, mainly based in the US, fronted by singer and songwriter Dave Wakling, and another, based in the UK, fronted by vocalist Ranking Roger. I saw the UK version a few years ago here in Southampton and they were storming! Definitely worth checking out.

The songsheet aligns to The Beat’s version, and is relatively straightforward. In fact, other than the chorus it’s essentially just a repetition throughout of the A/D/G/D chords. The chorus chucks in a few curveballs (E, C#, F#m), but if you play E as the barred-D shape on the 4th fret, and C# as the Bb shape on the 4th fret as well, it works OK. I’ve included the little dinky riff as well, if you want to play around with that. And if you want to get something of The Beat’s feel to this, then the rhythm is key. Listen to the original to get the feel, but it’s something like [A] d d-u [D] d d-u [G] d-u-d [D] u u-d-u, repeated. Play with energy, and enjoy!

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Situation – Yazoo

Yazoo’s Only You seems to be a staple of ukulele groups. That’s not a bad thing – it’s a good song (as long as you can rid your minds of the Flying Pickets), but a little… …safe? …nice? Well following on from the synthpop theme of the last post, I thought it might be good to lob this one out there, just as a reminder that both Yazoo and Alison Moyet are somewhat more than that one song.

It’s often forgotten that – at the time – Yazoo were real groundbreakers. Vince Clarke had just left Depeche Mode after their first album, and as the main songwriter in the band in those early days there were question marks over both their future, and what Clarke would do next. Few probably expected him to team up with an earthy blues vocalist like Alison Moyet, but in hindsight it seems such an obvious thing to do. Blending Clarke’s cold, precise synthetic keyboard and percussion sounds with a real, bluesy, soulful vocal, courtesy of Moyet, was a marriage made in heaven. And although it only lasted for little more than 18 months it set a template that has been repeated again and again ever since, not least in the diva sounds of dance and house music.

Situation was one of those songs that showcased Moyet’s voice to the full (and she still sounds great now). Widely acknowledged as a dance-floor classic, Situation was originally the b-side of Only You, appeared on the debut album Upstairs At Eric’s, and was a huge dance-floor smash in the US (number 1 in the dance charts). Listening to it now it sounds so familiar (not just itself, but in terms of the records that it has influenced) yet at the time it was like nothing else. The pulsating synth sounds and relentless percussion lay a foundation for Moyet’s rich, raw vocal.

So perfect for the ukulele then?! Well, I think so. It definately needs some kind of funky or rhythmic strumming to give it legs, so it’s not one for the standard strumming brigade. But give it some feeling, preferably a nice soulful vocal on top, and you can really make this one fly. Here is an example of the kind of result you might get. The song sheet is probably more of a starting point than something to be slavishly followed – there’s plenty of scope here for lots of improvisation and arranging. Enjoy!

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Lawnchairs – Our Daughters Wedding

I’ve been clearing the garden today. It has got horribly overgrown, so I’ve been uprooting weeds, brambles and other horrors. Not my idea of fun, but it’s quite satisfying seeing a somewhat clearer and tidier garden at the end of the day.

Anyway, to while away the time and motivate me I was listing to a compilation album called “The Mix Tapes: Alternative Music From The Late 70s And 80s“. It does what it says on the tin, and I guess this was really my era – the formative years of my musical journey, and as such music that has stayed with me and special to me ever since. One of the tracks that popped up was this somewhat neglected little gem from American synthpop trio Our Daughters Wedding.
This song takes me straight back to the summer of 1981. It was what was called a radio hit – i.e. played to death over the airwaves, but largely ignored by the great British record playing public. But it’s ubiquity at the time did enough to earn me a nickname of “Lawnchairs” due to my predilection for a rather fetching short-sleeved shirt in broad green and blue vertical stripes, interspersed with thin white stripes. Yes, in hindsight it did look something like a deckchair, but I loved it. As I did this record.

It’s one of those extremely basic synthpop songs that proliferated in the early 80s – in many ways similar to early songs by the likes of Depeche Mode and Orchestral Maoeuvres In The Dark (whose Messages has an introduction uncannily similar to this). I guess you an think of these as the synthpop equivalents of those early punk singles – spirit and attitude was everything, electronic equivalents of the two-chord thrash. Our Daughters Wedding never really made it – this was the peak of their success, and it didn’t get any higher than #49 in the UK singles chart – and if only for this song they are fondly remembered, if the number of appearances of this song on alternative 80s compilation albums is anything to go by.

So a suitable song for ukulele?! Well maybe not the most obvious of choices, I’ll grant you. But yes, I think it actually works quite well. It’s hugely straightforward, at least in terms of largely just being two chords all the way through. And the simple and straightforward nature of the song makes it something that seems to work well with four strings and a few bits of wood (and whilst it’s an acoustic guitar rather than a uke, here’s some kind of proof). [Note that the song sheet contains the song in two keys – the original, plus a version in E which I personally find it a lot easier to sing] Enjoy!

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April the 14th (Part 1) – Gillian Welch

timerevelator<song sheet>

Here’s another from Ms. Welch. I never tire of these songs.

I first came across Gillian via. her involvement in the Coen brothers film, O Brother Where Art Thou. The film, and more particularly the soundtrack album, was my country music epiphany, and from that I’ve gone on to discover and love a whole host of country-related music. But that soundtrack really opened my eye and ears, as I think it did for a lot of others. Gillian was involved in a couple of songs on that record, collaborating with Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris, a combination made in heaven if ever there was one. The soundtrack, masterminded by the ubiquitous T-Bone Burnett, had a particular old-time (the film is set in the 1930s) take on country, and Gillian was custom-made for that job. Despite being born in 1960s New York, and spending much of her life growing up in Los Angeles, her music feels as old as the hills, stripped back, acoustic, shamelessly drawing on the spirit of early 20th century rural American music. As such, her authenticity has been questioned, but in my mind she inhabits the world these songs as fully as anyone. The songs, and the performances (usually with collaborator David Rawlings) ring true, and if you’ve ever seen her in performance you’ll know that these are from the heart.

[To be perfectly honest, that whole emphasis on “authenticity” comes across to me as a narrow and reactionary, almost fascist, view point that fails to recognise the inherent multi-cultural, variety of influences that people come under in their lives, and that regardless of people’s backgrounds these sources can and do connect with people in very real ways. Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor’s book Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music is a good read on this subject – read some of their (now inactive) blog entries here.]

Anyway. This some comes from Gillian’s 3rd album, Time (The Revelator), which was my introduction proper to Gillian’s music. It’s a languid, slow-burning song, befitting it’s subject matter. Focussing on the somewhat disastrours experience of a somewhat down-at-heel “rock and roll band”, those events get put into some kind of context by reference to a series of historical disasters that coincidently all happened on the same day – April 14th. In 1865 the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (the “Great Emancipator”) by John Wilkes Booth, in 1912 the sinking of the Titanic after striking an iceberg, and in 1935 “Black Sunday” – the worst dust bowl storm ever, resulting in the residents of the region fleeing for other areas (many went to California). And if that is not enough, the album also includes a “(Part 2)” in the song Ruination Day, which continues these themes in a similar bleak style. So no, not the cheeriest of songs! But a great one nonetheless.

So here’s the song sheet. Nothing complicated in the basics here – the song itself is sparse, so take this as a starting point and do what you want with it. Enjoy!

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I’m In Love With A German Film Star – The Passions

germanfilmstar<song sheet>

I remember having this on a C120 cassette tape that I used to recorded my favourite songs from Sunday evening’s Top 40 show.

The Passions are generally perceived as one-hit wonders. Which is true – they only had one hit, and this it. To be fair, it wasn’t even much of a hit, “peaking” at number 25 in the UK singles chart in February 1981. And in so doing they notched up just two Top Of The Pops performance. And yet. And yet… my, what a song!

For a song that was born from a simple three-chord jam, with lyrics scribbled in a matter of minutes, there is something deeply arresting about this three-and-a-half-minute slice of post-punk-pop. Against a spacious, dark, echoing backdrop, full of brooding bass, chiming guitars and a metronomic beat, singer Barbara Gogan’s slightly detatched vocals intone a brief tale of grainy black-and-white obsession (or at least that’s how I always imagine it). And it is a song that has outlived and outperformed that original chart run. A staple of many early-80s compilation, it’s instantly recognisable sound seems to have carved in niche through time, it’s stature seemingly growing with. Witness the plethora of cover versions, from the likes of Foo Fighters, Dubstar, Pet Shop Boys with Sam Taylor-Wood, and even a pumping electopop version from Fiorious.

So another unlikely ukulele song, I hear you say? Well maybe, but a good song is a good song, and this one – to my mind – seems to work just fine. Nothing complicated, just a cyclic set of chords. Take at a gentle pace. Brood. And enjoy!

Get The Message – Electronic

getthemessage<song sheet>

Electronic was a short-lived collaboration between New Order’s Bernard Sumner and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. The supergroup status was augmented on their first album (from which this song is taken) by the appearance of Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant who sang on a couple of songs. Whilst I think it would be fair to say that, in general, the whole was less than the sum of the parts (and the weight of expectation around this at the time was *huge*), it’s also clear that there emerged from the collaboration some real gems. Debut single Getting Away With It (which also included Tennant) was certainly one, and this, the lead single from their debut album, is another.

Definitely coming closer to the New Order end of the spectrum than The Smiths end, the music for Get The Message was actually written by Marr. But for me this song is definitely more than its parts – that rich, strummed guitar, the pulsating bass-line, the clean synth lines topped off with a great vocal from Sumner who, whilst definitely limited in terms of vocal skills, gives the song just what it needs.

So a ukulele version?! Well, to be honest I can’t find any trace of this, or anything else by Electronic ever making its way to the ukulele. No suprise there. So all the more reason to include it here. I guess it was the strumming pattern that drew me to it, and certainly what I enjoy most when playing it. The song sheet is reasonably faithful to the original, which means that there are some quite lengthly instrumental sections, so feel free to abridge those if you feel so inclined. Enjoy!


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11012347_10205188727333203_1071227458_nIt just occurred to me that you might have you driver’s license by now. All i can say about that is “Watch Out, world! -Diane Chamberlain, The Lost Daughter

and it still occur and a dream of mine that every of my step, i want to touch this big world!

because i fear of the world that my 8-month-old little Muhammad and my other beloved siblings will live on in the future;

like the fear of late prosecutor parkjunghwan to his daughter-> courtesy, Punch

Pray to have eyes that see the best,

a heart that forgives the worst,

a mind that forgets the bad,

and a soul that never loses faith.

i read a piece of truth from a man to his daughter;

‘My father said fear had to be faced head on. He told me that everyone is scared at some time in their lives and if you don’t learn to cope with it, then it will control you.’ -Anne Bennett, A Sister’s Promise


text:
Be honest with yourselfWhile I’ve developed a fantastic career from inspiring others and teaching them about the finer points of online marketing, I can honestly admit that I’m a lousy pastry cook.  I’m also dreadful on ice skates, frustrated by politics and virtually useless when it comes to pop culture trivia.

I bring up these points not to make light of my shortcomings in life, but to show that we cannot ever really experience true growth without realizing what we’re bad at.

Just the other day, for example, I met with a friend who was furious that he was overlooked for a promotion at work.  And when he started rambling off the strengths of his resume compared to the person that was hired, it did sound like he was an excellent candidate.  Once we took a closer look at the job vacancy though, it clearly stated that the company was looking for someone with experience in email marketing…and my friend had none at all.

Here’s the thing though; my friend had been waiting for this position to become available for over a year now, and he knew each and every qualification that the company would look for.  Since he had such a stellar resume for some aspects of the position, he completely overlooked the one criterion that he wasn’t good at- and it was ultimately what cost him the position.  To make things even worse, I’m fantastic at email marketing and we hang out several times per week.  I could have easily made this a strength on his resume if he mentioned it a year ago.

So I want you to hear one thing loud and clear today- it is okay to struggle with some things in life.  Heck, I think it’s a core requirement for being human.

Instead of ignoring these shortcomings, however, you need to embrace them, seek out knowledge that will help you overcome these obstacles and become a better professional because of it.  By the way, I’m not talking about cooking or ice skating here either.

I’m talking about the traits that really matter in your life.  Listening.  Teamwork.  Generosity.  Honesty.  Empathy.  Dedication.  Loyalty.  Plus the hundreds of other skills, traits and abilities that you use within your profession on a daily basis.  And surprisingly, these are often the hardest things for us to see within ourselves…even though we can spot them a mile away within our friends and co-workers.

So what’s holding you or your company back in the world of online marketing?

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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Hike All of SF Post 10: Visitacion Valley Greenway

I'm on a mission to #hikeallofsf. These are the stories of my hikes. ______________________________________________________
Hike Statistics
  • Distance: 0.5 miles one way
  • Elevation: 150 feet
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: <1 hour
  • Dog Friendly: No

Introduction to The Visitacion Valley Greenway
In 1995, Fran Martin and Anne Seeman had a vision for transforming Visitacion Valley, a working-class neighborhood that had developed a reputation for drugs and crime. The women worked with the Trust for Public Land to gain rights to empty lots in the neighborhood from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.

The women’s vision was the Visitacion Valley Greenway, a checkerboard of six adjacent one-block-long parks: Hans Schiller Plaza, a community garden, an herb garden, a children’s playground, an agriculture garden, and a native plant garden.
 In 1999, the parties agreed to make the Greenway a reality, and in 2000, construction began. The Greenway’s major goals included educating people about natural sciences, nutrition, and plants; creating open recreational space; and making the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly.

As you meander through the parks, you will notice some common themes: terra-cotta-colored walkways, black gates, and mosaic art. Additionally, the parks were all designed with accessibility in mind, which means that wheelchair users can enjoy the Greenway, too.

In 2004, the Greenway was turned over to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. It has become a success, revitalizing the community and providing nearly two acres of green space for a diverse wildlife community.

Route Details
You will find the entrance to the Greenway on Leland Avenue between Rutland Street and Alpha Street. Whimsical mosaic columns and a low mosaic wall welcome you into Hans Schiller Park. More columns greet you as you enter the park and find the colored walkway that will take you through the six sections of the Greenway.

After exiting Hans Schiller Park, cross Raymond Avenue and look for the familiar black gates across the street.

You are now in the community garden, which features multiple gardening plots and two greenhouses. Here the walkway hugs the left side of the park while the garden occupies the right three-quarters of the park.

After the community garden, you will cross Arleta Avenue to enter the herb garden, which houses terraced beds, lavender-lined pathways, and outdoor education spaces with seating and picnic areas. Make sure to look back every now and again to catch a glimpse of San Bruno Mountain behind you.

After you leave the herb garden and cross Teddy Avenue, your fourth park is the children’s play garden, which is equipped with a small playground and a playfully-decorated front gate.

Once you exit the play garden, cross Campbell Avenue to reach the agriculture garden where you will encounter seasonal crops and fruit trees, which were planted to teach the community about nutrition.

To reach the last park, the native plant garden, cross Tucker Avenue. Here the walkway zigzags left and right for 200 feet, reaching an incline of 40 feet. The garden is a habitat for local wildlife such as bees, butterflies, other insects, and birds.

At the end of the native plant garden, you will be on Tioga Street and will have reached the end of the Greenway.

Continuing on to McLaren Park
McLaren Park is just a short walk from the Visitacion Valley Greenway. To get to the park, follow Tioga Avenue west one-half block east to Delta Street. Then, walk one block north to take Delta Street back to Wilde Avenue. Make a last left on Wilde Avenue to reach this street’s intersection with Ervine Street. From here, you can use the stairway or a trail to climb a steep 300 feet to reach the park entrance. From here, you can do the Philosopher’s Way hike (see pages 40-43) or take your own route around the park.

Getting there
Public Transit: MUNI bus 9 will take you to Bayshore Boulevard and Arleta Avenue. Walk south two blocks on Bayshore to reach Leland Avenue. Then take Leland Avenue past Alpha Street (Alpha will be the first street on your right) to find the entrance to the Greenway. If you reach Rutland Street, you have gone too far.  For MUNI bus information, call 311. Outside San Francisco, call (415) 701-2311.
Parking: There is metered parking along Leland Avenue. There is plentiful, unmetered parking along Raymond Street and other streets around the Greenway.

Visitacion Valley History
Visitacion Valley’s modern history began on July 2, 1777, when Spanish priests first saw the area on their way to the Presidio. They found the land where the neighborhood now stands when they lost their way in the fog. The priests said their first mass there on the feast of the Visitation, an event that gave the neighborhood its name. For many years after that, the land was used to graze cattle.

Then in 1822, Mexico gained its independence from Spain, and in 1841, Visitacion Valley became part of a land grant, Rancho Cañada de Guadalupe la Visitación y Rodeo Viejo that also contained today’s McLaren Park.

The first landowners in the area were Irish and Italian factory workers. Windmills also irrigated a number of farms in the area, giving the neighborhood its former nickname, “Valley of the Windmills.” In the 1870s, Visitacion Valley was home to a ribbon factory, breweries, quarries, a fertilizer company, and the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Starting in 1925 (and until 1999), Schlage Lock was a major presence. And during World War II, the nearby Hunters Point Naval Shipyard employed a large number of African Americans, which led to an influx of working-class blacks into the area. While African Americans still comprise 30 percent of the neighborhood population, over half of Visitacion Valley’s residents are now Chinese.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Hike All of SF Post 9: Juan Bautista de Anza Trail

I'm on a mission to #hikeallofsf. These are the stories of my hikes. ______________________________________________________
Hike Name: Juan Bautista de Anza Trail
Distance: 12 miles!
Elevation: negligible
Difficulty: Difficult
Time: 5-8 hours
Dog Friendly: Yes, on leash

Hike Description
Since most people have a day off on Labor Day, I decided to take advantage of that to assemble some friends and tackle one of San Francisco's longest hikes, the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail. While the trail is 1,200 miles long in total, it covers 12 miles in San Francisco. This route Marks where Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza led 245 men, women, and children on an journey to establish a settlement at San Francisco Bay between the years of 1775 and 1776. Some trail highlights include Mountain Lake, Immigrant Point, and Rob Hill Campground, the only overnight campground in mainland San Francisco. The red dotted line on this site shows you the entire route. If you can’t swing the whole thing (totally understandable!), I recommend that you do the the 2.7-mile/5.4-mile round trip section through the Presidio.

Route Details

Since de Anza was coming from Mexico, he completed his trek from south to north, but I recommend doing the opposite and starting your walk at the Golden Gate Bridge. You can start your walk by picking up the Batteries to Bluffs Trail from the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot. When you reach Dove Loop right after Batter Godfrey, head back to Lincoln Boulevard. Stay on Lincoln Boulevard until you reach Washington Boulevard, which you'll take to the aforementioned Rob Hill Campground. Feel free to explore the campground and then head back to Washington Boulevard. Follow Washington Boulevard South and then continue your route on Battery Caulfield Road. From here, you should start to see signs for the "Anza Trail." When we did the hike, there was a hike detour on Battery Caulfield Road, and we turned left onto a trail toward Mountain Lake just before the street turns into Wedemeyer Street. Follow the trail around Mountain Lake and see where the de Anza expedition camped while looking for a good place to found the Presidio. If you need a bathroom break by now, this is the perfect place to go.

Trail to Mountain Lake from Battery Caulfield Road
 After your tour of Mountain Lake, head toward Funston Avenue. You are now exiting the Presidio. If you opt for the 5.4-mile round trip route, this is where you can turn around.

To continue on, follow Funston Avenue until you reach Golden Gate Park. Then you can take JFK Drive to Transverse Drive to MLK Drive. There are paved trails throughout the park, but if you look parallel to these trails, you'll often find dirt trails you can take instead. After 25th Avenue, you can take a dirt trail that will take you southwest toward Lincoln Way. Walk along Lincoln (or on parallel dirt trails inside the park!) until you reach Sunset Boulevard.

One of many dirt trails in Golden Gate Park

Once you reach Sunset Boulevard, the hike become a little difficult. Not because the route is treacherous, but because - it was flat and straightm and loooong, and  there wasn't much to look at. Luckily, I knew beautiful Lake Meced was coming.

When you reach Lake Merced Boulevard, take a right and head toward Skyline Boulevard to walk along the lake. You can take this path along the entire western side of the lake. At the lake's southernmost point, continue on to Lake Merced Boulevard and make a right onto John Daly Boulevard. You can take John Daly Boulevard to its intersection with Skyline Boulevard and your hike is done. Whew, that was a tough one. Congrats on a job well done.

Lake Merced after a loooong stretch on Sunset Boulevard
Getting there
  • Public Transit: This page offers detailed information on the public transit options for getting to the Golden Gate Bridge.
  • Parking: This page offers detailed information on parking options for the Golden Gate Bridge.

Juan Bautista de Anza History
Juan Bautista de Anza was born in Sonora, New Spain (Mexico) in 1736. He joined the army in 1752 and served on the northern frontier of Sonora. In 1772, de Anza asked the Viceroy of New Spain for permission to explore Alta California. A group of 3 priests, 20 soldiers, 11 servants, and a number of horses, mules, and cattle took off to explore Arizona and made it to Monterey, California two years later in 1774. On a second Mission, 245 people joined de Anza on a trip back north with the goal of reaching San Francisco. When group made it to Monterey, de Anza, Father Pedro Font, and a number of soldiers continued the trek north to the Bay Area. There, he located the site of Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis (now Mission Dolores).

Fun fact: If you take a look at the list of families who joined de Anza on his expedition, you can see many last names have been turned into San Francisco street names.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Hike All of SF Post 8: Lobos Creek Valley Trail

I'm on a mission to #hikeallofsf. These are the stories of my hikes.

Hike Name: Lobos Creek Valley Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles round trip
Elevation: 50 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Time: < 1 hour
Dog Friendly: Dogs not permitted

Today's planned 5k turned into an unplanned half marathon around the northern neighborhoods of San Francisco. My friend Debbie and I awakened early to do a quick race on Crissy Field with the Dolphin South End Runners. When we found ourselves done by 9:30, we decided to take advantage of the day to keep exercising.

We headed out on foot in the direction of the Legion of Honor, but with momentum ruling over us, we skipped the museum and continued walking to Ocean Beach...and back (Strava proof of walk and Strava proof of 5k).

While walking down Lincoln Boulevard, I realized we were heading right by a hiking trail I'd been meaning to visit, the Lobos Creek Valley Trail. At around 0.8 miles round trip, this is one of the shorter trails in the city. For someone who's looking for some serious exercise, this trail is best done as part of a longer walk. However, if you want a quick jaunt through some nature, this is a nice way to go.

The trail starts on Bowley Street just before its intersection with Lincoln Boulevard. At the trailhead, you'll find an introduction to the area plus a boardwalk that will take you through the first part of the hike.

The path is flat and is built upon a restored dune habitat and is surrounded by dry, brown plant life and some small green bushes (at least at this point in the year).

At about 0.4 miles, the boardwalk ends and you can walk up a few stairs into a sandy area shaded by Monterey Cypress Trees.

At the end of this path, you'll end up on concrete at the Lobos Creek Valley Overlook. From here, you can look down upon the entirety of the path you just took.

Note: Even this trail is called the Lobos Creek Valley trail, the actual Lobos Creek is not visible from the trail. If you want to see the creek, you can view it at the west end of Baker Beach.

To return to your start and complete your loop, head back through the cypress grove. Instead of turning left to go back down the stairs, continue straight. Keep walking on the dirt path until you see the parking lot and three buildings on your left. After the last building, turn left to reach the trailhead.

About Lobos Creek
Lobos Creek is the only free flowing creek remaining in San Francisco. Yosemite, Islais,  and Mission Creeks have long been rerouted and in some cases diverted underground from their original paths. Lobos Creek originates in the southwestern corner of the Presidio and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Baker Beach. The creek is the Presidio's primary water source today.

The dunes around the creek were destroyed while the Presidio was a military base. Restoration began in 1994 and was comlpeted in 1996. The dunes now house over 130 plant species as well as birds and butterflies.

Monday, August 4, 2014

10 Hikes with the Best Views in San Francisco

A version of this blogpost was originally posted on Thrillist on 7/28/14:

San Francisco’s hills can seem like a cruel joke at the end of a hard workout, a long night, or let’s face it - even with a bag of groceries - but they’re also what makes our city unique. We can’t complain too much about our hills because they give us the views that give others city envy while making us proud to call San Francisco home. Get your ‘pano’ mode ready - here are 10 hikes with the best views in San Francisco.*

1. Mt. Davidson Screen Shot 2014-07-22 at 8.53.00 PM.png
In a city of over 40 hills, Mount Davidson is the tallest of them all. The 0.44 mile hike to the top is easy, and you can choose an exposed or eucalyptus-covered route to take you there. Once at the summit, you can soak in the downtown views, or stand at the foot of the 103-foot cross featured in the ransom scene of Dirty Harry. Two popular entrances for the park are on Dalewood and Juanita Way.

Screen Shot 2014-07-22 at 7.49.14 PM.png2. Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks may be five feet shorter than Mount Davidson, but it shows no sign of an inferiority complex. This is probably the best-known and most-loved view of the city for both tourists and locals. Leave the Christmas Tree Point tour buses behind and climb up Noe or Eureka Peak (yes, they have names) for 360 degree views. You can access the official stairway to Twin Peaks on Crestline Drive.

3. John McLaren Park’s Philosopher’s Way
The city’s second largest park may be out of the way, but it’s still worth a trip. McLaren Park’s Philosopher’s Way is a 2.7-mile loop with impossible-to-get-lost trail markers and a number of “musing stations” with quotations, history, and other park information. An 80-foot blue water tower marks the top of the park where you’ll get views that take you from downtown San Francisco all the way to San Bruno.

4. Presidio Promenade
With 25 miles of trails, the Presidio has enough hiking routes to make up its own top 10 list. There’s no one best trail in this historic ‘hood, but the Presidio Promenade stands out for its views of the Bay, Marin, and Crissy Field. The 2.2-mile paved trail starts at the Lombard Gate and visits the Presidio Main Post and San Francisco National Cemetery before reaching the Golden Gate Bridge.

5. Lands End
Land End may be San Francisco’s most perfect hike. At 3.5 miles round trip, it’s a legitimate workout, and whenever you get tired, you can just pretend you’re stopping to stare at the Golden Gate Bridge. To get a harder workout, follow signs for Mile Rock Beach to visit the Eagle Point Labyrinth. A trip all the way down to the beach and back will cost you 224 steps, but who’s counting?

Screen Shot 2014-07-22 at 8.00.25 PM.png6. Fort Funston
Located in the southwestern corner of the city, Fort Funston is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). The park’s sandy trails offer expansive views of the ocean and serve as arguably the largest unintentional dog park in the city. A nice two-mile hike at Fort Funston starts in the main parking lot. Take the Sunset Trail past Battery Davis and then take the Horse Trail back to your start.

Photo credit: Brett Lider
7. Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill
Hidden in Golden Gate Park, Strawberry Hill occupies an entire island in the center of Stow Lake. The top of Strawberry Hill is 430 feet tall and is the highest point in the entire park. For a 2+ mile hike, first circle the island then start climbing up. From the summit, you can get views of downtown San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Marin.

IMG_0291.JPG8. Batteries to Bluffs
This bayside trail is short - 0.7 miles each way -  but still manages to pack a punch due to its large number of stairs. But don’t worry too much about the stairs, there is plenty to distract you. When you’re not gazing at views of the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Marin Headlands, you can learn the history of the gun batteries you pass on the cliffs.

9. Bernal Hill
Bernal Hill is a highlight of the (relatively) sunny neighborhood of Bernal Heights. Start your walk on the one-mile paved path surrounding the hill. Then take any of the park’s dirt trails to reach the top of the hill where you’ll find Sutro Tower’s smaller cousin, Sutrito Tower. From here, get 360 degrees views of the city including downtown, Twin Peaks, Mount Davidson, the East Bay, and the peninsula. On your way back down, don’t miss these slides.

10. Golden Gate Heights Park
The Inner Sunset’s Golden Gate Heights Park offers unique views of San Francisco. Not only can you see Sutro Tower and downtown, but you can also see the entire length of Golden Gate Park -- from the Panhandle to the ocean. This park isn’t a hike in and of itself, socombine a visit here with a trip to Grandview Park and its two nearby mosaic stairways (here and here).

*Views not guaranteed. Karl the Fog can strike at any time, especially in “Fogust.”

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

So what exactly is urban hiking?

At the start of each Urban Hiker SF tour, we ask our guests if they have ever been on an urban hike before. Most people either shake their head 'no' or give us a slightly confused look. After posing this question to countless hikers, I realized that most people don't have their own definition of urban hiking.

For San Francisco, I normally define urban hiking as "exploring the stairways, hills, and hiking trails" of the city. But there aren't stairways, hills, and hiking trails in every city, so how else can we define urban hiking? I started thinking about this, and wanted to answer the questions of "What exactly is urban hiking, and how does it differ from other hiking and walking?"

Here are a few characteristics that, when put together, create an urban hike:
Bench in Walter Haas Park

1. Urban environment
This may be stating the obvious, but an urban hike has to be in an urban setting. This is the main characteristic that sets urban hikes apart from standard hikes. On both a standard hike and an urban hike, you might find yourself sitting on a park bench taking in a stunning view. Only on an urban hike, however, will that view be right next to a major downtown area.

Tombstone Wall in Diamond Heights
2. Spirit of Exploration
Urban hiking (like hiking in general) also implies a spirit of exploration. When you embark upon an urban hike, you're not trying to take the most direct or functional route somewhere. On the contrary, you are aiming to enjoy your surroundings and discover something know, like a stone wall that's made of tombstones or a driveway that's covered in psychedelic ladybugs.

Psychedelic Ladybug Driveway

3. Fitness
Pacific Heights Stairs
To contrast walking and hiking again, a major difference between a walk and an urban hike is that with the latter, you're usually aiming for a higher level of heart-pumping action. With 630+ public stairways, 40+ hills, and 70+ miles of hiking trails, I think San Francisco has any number of your fitness challenges covered. I get out of breath just thinking about many of our stairways.

And even if you don't have stairways in your city, it could be the pace at which you're walking, or the desire to climb up hills that turns your ordinary walk into a hike.

4. Green spaces
With urban hiking, it's often one's goal to get out into green spaces like parks, hiking trails, beaches, and more. Heading into nature in the middle of the city is part of the true essence of an urban hike. Often though, it's hard to completely lose your urban setting. Don't be surprised, for example, if a 1,000 foot-tall-man-made tower pops into the background. That is only to be expected.

5. Distance
And lastly, there is distance. One might not say that half-mile walk in the woods was a hike. But, you might say you "hiked all over town" racking up 10 miles running errands. Hiking often involves going a longer distance - let's say over 3 miles, but as you might imagine, there is no set distance that clearly divides walking and hiking.

While walking, hiking, and urban hiking have a lot of similarities, they have small differences that also make them unique. What really sets apart a walk from a hike from an urban hike is your own, personal perspective. What's your definition of urban hiking? Where do you live and do you go urban hiking in your city?


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Lawrence Solomon: Oil redeems Israel

(June 6, 2011) A huge strike will bring back a world bought by oil interests.

Prior to the 1973-74 OPEC Oil Crisis, Israel was the darling of the left, extolled as a feisty, altruistic country that made socialism work in a hostile neighbourhood of Arab military dictatorships and Muslim theocracies. The liberal press defended Israel against those who objected to Israel’s existence. The liberal intelligentsia — Jew and non-Jew alike — sent their youth to Israeli kibbutzes, to be inspired by this utopian model of communal life where all received the same wage, regardless of occupation.

Almost immediately after the OPEC nations quadrupled oil prices to punish the West for its support of Israel, the left turned, along with many in the center and on the right, too. Israel soon became a pariah state, while the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose airplane hijackings and other acts of terrorism against Western targets had previously drawn condemnation, became praiseworthy.

In 1974, PLO leader Yasser Arafat assumed statesman status and was invited to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. One more year and the UN General Assembly branded Zionism as a form of racism.

Oil wasn’t the only factor in the world’s change of attitude toward Israel. In that hyper-ideological Cold War period, anti-capitalists and anti-colonialists wanted the West and its allies out of the Middle East, others wanted to appease Arab grievances to end terrorism, or they sympathized with the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states that had lost wars to Israel. But oil was decisive in causing the world to reconsider where its interests lay.

Take black African countries, most of whom had excellent relations with Israel prior to OPEC. Though Israel was itself poor when it began its aid program in 1958, 10 years after its founding, Israel became the world’s second-largest per-capita donor of foreign aid, most of it for Africa. Israelis felt pride in having helped an estimated 250,000 Africans by transferring to them technologies in which Israel excelled, such as in agricultural and water management.

But Israel’s relationship with black Africa would not survive the OPEC oil embargo because the Arabs had a persuasive case to make. “Join us in our fight against Western imperialism and colonialism by cutting off diplomatic relations with Israel,” OPEC asked black African nations. “If you do, we will supply you with cheap oil and more aid for roads and other infrastructure than the Israelis give you. And if you don’t cut off relations with Israel,” they made clear, “we will cut off your oil, just as we cut off the West.”

The black African countries, almost en masse, cut off relations with Israel and formed an Islamic-African voting bloc, buttressed with other so-called “non-aligned nations” that would vote against Israel at every turn in the United Nations. It is this voting bloc of now more than 100 nations of the 192 in the UN — known today as the “automatic majority” — that in 1975 passed the United Nations resolution branding Zionism as a form of racism, and whose members would systematically condemn Israel and almost no one else for human rights abuses: Israel has been condemned by the United Nation’s Human Rights Commission 33 times compared to zero for countries such as Iran, Zimbabwe, or even Sudan, despite its decades-long atrocities in Darfur.

The left and the African countries weren’t alone in turning on Israel — they also had allies in the oil multinationals. Nationalization by Third World countries of multinational assets had already begun by 1973, and the oil companies knew that their dealings throughout the Middle East were at risk if they were seen to be hostile to the Arab street. To head off the backlash that they faced, the oil multinationals lobbied Western governments to turn on Israel. In an ad for The New York Times, for example, Mobil Oil urged that it was “time now for the world to insist on a settlement in the Middle East” to avoid the wrath of the Arab oil states, a message it also sent to its shareholders. In concert, Exxon and other multinationals likewise argued that the West had far greater interests in a secure oil supply than in a tiny patch of oil-less land called Israel.

This anti-Israeli coalition succeeded brilliantly in rebranding Israel as a pariah state, to the satisfaction of the oil multinationals. Although their assets were in the end nationalized, the goodwill they had earned with Arab dictatorships, and their windfall from the OPEC price hikes that they helped engineer, let them maintain their status as one of the world’s most profitable industries. For others — such as black Africa — it didn’t work out so well. Not only did Arab aid fail to develop the continent — black Africans actually became poorer — but Islamic Arabs and Christian black Africans often war with each other.

Neither did the West’s turn against Israel to appease the Arab world work out well for the West, which was rewarded with a second OPEC oil crisis in 1979, the Iranian hostage taking, two Gulf Wars, a war in Afghanistan, and a major increase in terrorism against Western targets.

Neither did the Arabs’ political success in marginalizing Israel work out well for the Arab citizenry. The Arab states, despite their oil wealth, have had abysmal growth, their stunted economies sometimes faring even worse than black Africa’s. With the chaos that has come of the Arab Spring and its potential for more radical Islamic or failed states, the outlook could not be bleaker for the Middle East.

With one exception — Israel, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and one of the most advanced: Per capita it ranks No. 1 in scientific papers, high-tech startups, civilian R&D and PhDs.  Especially important to the left, Israel has become hip, a gay-friendly mecca for the arts and entertainment that attracts big-name Western performers. Lonely Planet ranks Tel Aviv third among the cities of the world for its cafés, nightclubs, and music and film scenes.

Especially important to all, Israel will soon rival Saudi Arabia as the Middle East’s single-largest store of oil. This tiny patch of land called Israel, it turns out, has an immense oil patch southwest of Jerusalem, far from any disputed territory. Israel also has immense natural gas deposits off its north coast.

Once these oil and gas resources are developed, Israel will become a major exporter, freeing the West from dependency on hostile oil-exporting regimes and enabling the West to judge Israel on its merits. The West will then be at liberty to determine afresh where its interests truly lie.

Lawrence Solomon is executive director of Energy Probe and author of The Deniers.

For Part III of this three part series, click here. To return to Part I, click here.

About Lawrence Solomon

Lawrence Solomon is one of Canada's leading environmentalists. His book, The Conserver Solution (Doubleday) popularized the Conserver Society concept in the late 1970s and became the manual for those interested in incorporating environmental factors into economic life. An advisor to President Jimmy Carter's Task Force on the Global Environment (the Global 2000 Report) in the late 1970's, he has since been at the forefront of movements to reform foreign aid, stop nuclear power expansion and adopt toll roads. Mr. Solomon is a founder and managing director of Energy Probe Research Foundation and the executive director of its Energy Probe and Urban Renaissance Institute divisions. He has been a columnist for The Globe and Mail, a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the editor and publisher of the award-winning The Next City magazine, and the author or co-author of seven books, most recently The Deniers, a #1 environmental best-seller in both Canada and the U.S. .
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Bassoon Reed Tip Cutters

Bassoon reed tip cutters are invaluable in ensuring consistency when making bassoon reeds. At Crook and Staple we use the Rieger bassoon reed tip cutter as it uses a rolling blade, which is more consistant, it has a measuring scale imprinted in it and it has a high build quality ensuring it lasts a long time.
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> Viruses & Risks > VBS.Haptime Removal Tool

VBS.Haptime Removal Tool

August 24, 2005 12:00:00 AM
Removal Information
The VBS.Haptime Removal tool removes the changes that the VBS.Haptime.A@mm and VBS.Haptime.B@mm worms made to the computer.

If you are running this tool on Windows NT or Windows 2000, you need to have Administrator-level privileges.
If you have not already done so, delete any email messages containing the worm before running the tool. The email will have either the Untitled.htm or Instlog.htm attachment.
When the tool has finished running, you will see a message indicating whether the VBS.Haptime.A@mm or VBS.Haptime.B@mm worm has infected the computer. In the case of a successful worm removal, the program will display the:
Total number of the scanned files
Number of deleted files
Number of repaired files
Number of fixed registry keys

Obtaining and running the tool
Go to
Download the Fixhaptime.exe file to a convenient location, such as your download folder or the Windows desktop.
Close all the programs before running the tool, including any antivirus scanners, such as Norton AntiVirus (NAV) Auto-Protect.

CAUTION: Do not skip this step. You need to disable Auto-Protect before running the tool. For instructions, see the document: How to enable and disable Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect.

Double-click the Fixhaptime.exe file to start the repair tool.
Click Start to begin the process, and then allow the tool to run.
Re-enable Auto-Protect.

Digital signature
Fixhaptime.exe is digitally signed. Symantec recommends that you only use copies of fixhaptime.exe that have been downloaded directly from the Security Response Web site. To check the authenticity of the digital signature, follow these steps:
Go to:
Click the link to Chktrust.exe and save the file to the same folder in which you saved fixhaptime.exe.
Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.
Change to the folder in which fixhaptime.exe and Chktrust.exe are stored, and then type:

chktrust -i fixhaptime.exe

For example:

cdcd download
chktrust -i fixhaptime.exe

Press Enter after typing each command.

If the digital signature is valid, you will see the following:

Do you want to install and run "fixhaptime.exe" signed on 8/23/01 3:25 PM and distributed by Symantec Corporation?

The date and time displayed in this dialog will be adjusted to your time zone if your computer is not set to the Pacific time zone.
If you are using Daylight Saving time, the displayed time will be exactly one hour earlier.
If this dialog does not appear, do not use your copy of fixhaptime.exe. It is not from Symantec.

Click Yes to close the dialog box.
Type exit, and then press Enter. (This will close the MS-DOS session.)

What the tool does
The VBS.Haptime removal tool does the following:
Scans and repairs files infected with the VBS.Haptime.A@mm or VBS.Haptime.B@mm worm.

Will not repair the files dropped by the worm. The following files infected with the VBS.Haptime will be deleted:

Removes the following registry key for all the users:

In the registry key:

HKEY_USERS\[USER NAME]\Control Panel\Desktop

the removal tool updates the following value for all the users:

Wallpaper [EMPTY STRING]

In the registry key:

HKEY_USERS\[USER NAME]\Identities\[DEFAULT USER ID]\Software\\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0\Mail

The tool updates the following values for all the users:

Message Send HTML 0
Compose Use Stationery 0
Stationery Name [EMPTY STRING]

Search Threats

Search by name

Example: W32.Beagle.AG@mm


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Using Hashtags for Business

Those of us on Twitter and Instagram will all have that one friend who insists upon using #hashtags #with #every #single #word. If you are one of those people, please stop it. Stop it now. In a week that Scrabble has started selling their new dictionary which includes the word hashtag – along with selfie and chillax - here are some tips on how to use them effectively for business.

The idea behind hashtags is simple, they make it easier to search for people talking about things you're interested in. This could be business related, for example, I check #journorequest and #commschat on a regular basis. It can also be handy when I want to keep up to date with news of my beloved home town club (and undoubtedly the finest football team there is) Ipswich Town Football Club. A quick search for #ITFC will let me know whats going on and see the opinions of like-minded fans (for those of you who dont follow football, Ipswich are as dominant in the beautiful game as Google are in the search engine landscape, honest).

Hashtag #fail

From a marketers point of view, hashtags can be a wonderful thing. You can see what people are talking about and look to incorporate this into your marketing and communication strategies. Better yet, you can use social platforms to look to turn people into brand advocates. That being said, all that glistens is not gold and there are some very high profile social faux pas of Gerald Ratner proportions.

The worst of these cases tend to follow a typical pattern: A news story breaks, people talking about it on social use a hashtag, a brand sees this and wants people to be talking about them so jumps on to the hashtag, this ends up going badly. Very badly.

Kenneth Coles insensitive joke appeared during the uprising in Cairo, which saw reportedly 300 people die and over 3,000 seriously injured.

Kenneth Cole Tweet

Snack brand Entenmanns tweeted asking their followers about eating their tasty treats. It seemed harmless enough, until you consider that at the time, #notguilty was trending the conclusion of the high profile Casey Anthony trial.

Entenmanns Tweet

Furniture retailer Habitat took this a step further. The company actually paid for promotional tweets based on trending topics. Not the smartest of tactics in the first place. I'm not a True Blood fan, but if I was tweeting about the latest episode the last thing I'd want – other than a spoiler – is an unrelated brand jumping in to promote their newsletter. This backfired further when one of the hashtags was a discussion about events in Iran at the time. Using political disarray to boost brand traffic episode was less than stellar.

Habitat Tweet

Hashtags done right

Adidas have been widely praised for their social media efforts during the recent FIFA World Cup – their #allin hashtag generated over 570,000 mentions on Twitter and their YouTube audience grew by over 200,000. Whilst other sportswear brands sponsored players throughout the tournament, no others got the same type of social interaction. The key to Adidas success over its rivals started with the preparation.

Prior to the tournament Adidas and its social agency had amassed over 1,000 images and 160 videos ready to unveil on their social platforms to cover every eventuality. They created an hour by hour calendar of the tournament with plans for different scenarios. This meant they were able to execute pre-planned campaigns quickly and in real time, maximising their impact. Below are just a few of the Tweets featuring one of the stars of the World Cup, Adidas sponsored Colombian James Rodriguez  .

addias tweet before World Cup

Before Columbias World Cup campaign.

Adidas tweet during World CupDuring Columbias World Cup campaign.

Adidas tweet after Columbia Exit

After Columbias World Cup campaign.

Whilst not all businesses have Adidas marketing budget or access to 100 sponsored players in one of the biggest sporting events in the world, there are still relevant tips that can help boost your businesses use of hashtags.

  • Think ahead – Adidas spent a year collecting the images and preparing for the event. Whilst this isnt practical or realistic for all businesses, Twitter fails are usually tweets sent in haste to try and capitalise on breaking news.
  • Brand identity – Hashtags are a great way to support your brand or campaign. Everyone knows that #allin is Adidas. The important fact is to find one that is unique to your business, so make sure you search all social platforms to be sure that you can dominate your chosen hashtag. Also, brevity is king on social so keep it short and to the point.
  • Integration – Too many times social is seen as a bolt on to an existing campaign. To maximise efficiency it needs to be integrated within the wider campaign. For example, Adidas featured its hashtag on both TV and print adverts. This raised awareness of it and helped to prevent any guerrilla tactics.
  • Trending Hashtags – Acting on trending hashtags is fine but remember the golden rule – dont be an idiot. If the hashtag is not about your business do you really want to get involved? If nothing else, it is deemed as poor social etiquette and could lose you followers. However, if it does have relevance, then engage with users talking about the topic.
  • Listen – Social isnt all about promoting your brand. Listen to what your consumers and other like-minded individuals are interested in. Business-specific conversational hashtags are also great for research. A small business, for example, would benefit from checking #SMB.