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I visited San Francisco today to celebrate the life of street musician Larry Hunt, also known as the “Bucket Man.” I met Larry in the mid-90s when I was a student at Cal. In those days he frequented Sproul Plaza — with a real drum kit if the weather was good, and with a set of buckets when the weather was bad. I was in a pretty awful headspace on the regular back then, but sitting and listening to Larry play and sing always put a smile on my face, and upbeat music in my head. (I was especially fond of his wacky mashup of “Wipeout” and the Batman theme song.) That Larry had amazing talent was obvious to anyone who passed by, but if you got to know the man — and I am glad that I did — you discovered that he had limitless heart. That was what drove him, really: His heart’s chief desire was …

A short walk from my home in Oakland, in a grove of redwoods and eucalyptuses beside a freeway offramp, a volunteer artist has spent the last year creating an amazing space to sit amongst the trees and watch the world go by. I walked there today to get some snapshots of the ongoing project during the golden hour.

This space feels amazingly tranquil, despite the adjacent traffic. Not long after I got done taking pictures, a pickup truck pulled off the road, and the driver jumped out and started unloading rocks from the truck’s bed. It turned out to be the person who did all this. I got the clear impression they wish to remain anonymous, but it was wonderful to speak to them about their work and give them my thanks for creating this unexpected oasis in my part of the Town.

Amid the ongoing Twitter meltdown, I’ve been enjoying Mastodon quite a bit. (I’m on sfba.social.) Every time I see “Federated” over in its sidebar, I think of the bonkers commercials from the 1980s for electronics chain store The Federated Group, with the amazing Shadoe Stevens playing Dr. Fred Rated. These commercials transport me back to a time when a Quasar VHS VCR for $273.11 was an exciting deal. Here, enjoy a few minutes of pure eighties insanity…

Californians: Mad Props is your 100% independent guide to the statewide propositions on your November ballot. A labor of love since 2008 by yours truly, who is otherwise totally wasting his degree in Political Science. Please spread the link far and wide if you find it useful.

On this last day of summer, I’m posting some photos that prove that I got out of the house (and even out of town) and did a little living while the days were long this year. Hope you did too!

The end of summer sneaks up on me and breaks my heart every year.

Because we could all use one, please enjoy this moment of zen: a Jon Carroll column from early July 2005, on the topic of “wisdom.”

Got out of town for three nights this past weekend, spent them down in Monterey County. Poked around Carmel, Asilomar State Beach, Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Seaside. Saw some of the most breathtakingly beautiful stretches of Golden State coastline I’ve ever seen. Discovered that “calamari steak and eggs” is a common item on brunch menus down there. Spent one glorious sunny afternoon learning to play bocce, courtesy of awesome friends we had not seen in years. All this and more, and yet, no pics of us doing any of this, because the few shots we took were of the gorgeous scenery. After all these years of carrying smartphones, my wife and I have yet to cultivate an impulse to pull one out and snap a pic when we are having fun.

If you ever hang out with me, and it looks like I am having fun, please take a picture!

When I launched this site in early 2021, I knew that I would consider it “under construction” until I had implemented proper/modern photo galleries. I finally got that work done this past week, so the museyroom has finally reopened, with an exhibition of galleries from the old site. This site is now capable of sharing just about anything I might want to share online, so I’ve cleaned up the home page and taken the construction sign down. It feels great to finally have the whole place built out.

I ordered a used book. It was only a few miles away, in San Francisco, so I figured it would get here soon.

But no: It took more than a week, because first, the USPS sent my book to Las Vegas.

Then to Reno.

Then back to San Francisco, where the journey began. Then to Oakland—where I live! (Getting close, right?)

But then the book went back to San Francisco once more. And then back to Oakland again.

And then, finally, today, the book arrived.

It must be exhausted.