Oakland Juxtapositions

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in West Oakland is incredible. To reach it, you wind through a neighborhood made of shipping containers stacked 15 high and giant shipping cranes. Upon reaching the park, you are greeted with a huge expanse of manicured green lawn bisected with geometric walking paths. Beyond the expansive lawn, sit bbqs and picnic tables, beyond which lies a beach (!?). From this mini West Oakland beach, complete with sand, kelp, and water (and a heartbreaking amount of litter washed up from the bay) is a view of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco across the bay. The Bay Bridge looks and sounds peaceful from this angle.

To either side of the park are active boat shipping yards, with giant cranes and shipping containers. Its a surprisingly quiet place. We saw only a few other groups of people there, mostly families. The park is huge! We walked along the water for so long that my feet were sore by the end of our visit. While walking, be sure to look at where you step, since the massive flock of Canada Geese that thrive there leave droppings every few feet, or more. Along the waterfront paths, habitat has been restored to its long forgotten natural state, with native grasses and other plants. We saw many beautiful and distinctive birds.

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park is an oasis in Oakland. It feels a million miles away. The quiet, and the expanse of the park make it peaceful, while the proximity to the shipping yards makes it exciting, as if its a place you're not supposed to be. Yet, clearly, the city of Oakland wants you to be there. There are parking lots, well-maintained paths, bbqs and bathrooms. I highly recommend a visit to this park as a step away from your everyday existence in the bay area. The unique view of the bay bridge and the city make you feel special, while the shipping yards remind you of the economic heft and international importance of the port of Oakland.

Makes me miss New York...

NYC - Mindrelic Timelapse from Mindrelic on Vimeo.

beautiful.

map courtesy of Burrito Justice Blog

I love this map! It puts San Francisco's many districts into cute little boxes. The map also imagines the neighborhoods to be islands with canals running between them. Its true, that SF neighborhoods are so distinctive they can feel like little islands!

Electric Shadows

Electric Shadows moved me in a way few films have the power to do. The film tells the story of a young girl, Ling Ling born to an unwed mother with a passion for film in a small Chinese village. The mother and daughter are shunned for lacking a father/husband. What moved me so much about this film? Let me count the ways... 1. The mother-daughter relationship. They dressed up together and looked smashing despite the village's bigotry. 2. The pure love of cinema expressed so poignantly in the film. Ling Ling and her mother are buddies with the town projectionist who runs an outdoor cinema. 3. The friendship formed between Ling Ling and the town clown (a boy). 4. An unexpected twist in the plot that I can't divulge.

The film captures a sense of wonder at the world despite difficult circumstances. Characters are always on the edge of loneliness, but reach out to each other in unexpected ways. See it!

C.R.A.Z.Y.

Last night I saw a great movie, C.R.A.Z.Y. Its Canadian and features a large family of boys growing up throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s in Montreal, speaking French and looking cute the whole time. The main character, Zac, is gay, which causes an unbearable rift between him and his father, who he adores. The costumes are great, bringing the viewer through 3 distinct eras in style. The film portrays a family of characters you want to hang out with, well-developed people with both negative and positive aspects to their personalities. Smoking hot Pierre-Luc Brillant plays Zac's older brother, Raymond, the brother with which he has the most intense relationship. Director Jean-Marc Vallee portrays the complexity of sibling relationships with a depth of understanding not often found in film.

Japan Trends: less consumerism

image courtesy of eBoy

This article explains that there is a growing trend in Japan against rampant consumerism, even including (gasp!) not working full time in order to slow down and enjoy other parts of life. I must admit that Japan is the last place I expected this trend to show up, but its comforting to know that even the most LCD and plastic-crazy place I know of is waking up to the emotional toll and emptiness of basing one's life on consumerism. Not that I don't want to walk the streets of Tokyo one day, soaking up jumbotron fireworks while listening to my ipod and planning my next purchases...

Americans Valuing Experiences Over Consumption

Madeline having an "experience" with a water cave

This week the New York Times published a great article about how Americans are valuing experience over consumption now that we're in the Great Recession (their term). This makes me happy! Its boosting museum attendance, which of course tickles me, but thats not the only thing. I have wondered my whole life how such a large portion of our society puts such a high priority on material belongings. Its a conundrum for me in a way, since I am a collector and I have built my career around "material" culture (museum collections!), yet I shun consumerism. My collections mostly come to me second hand, through the flea market, the very generous sidewalks of New York and San Francisco, or the thrift store.