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Growing up in San Francisco in the 50’s, I lived for a time in the upper Castro District, where my house had a tremendous view of the city. I would sit for hours on the back porch, night after night, watching the lights of the city. The most memorable of all (other than Sputnik), were the Castro theater sign (left arrow), and the glass of beer on the top of the Hamm's Brewery (right arrow).




The theater’s sign would begin a sequence with a “C”, followed by “A”, “S”, “T”, “R”, and an “O”. It would then go dark, and then the full name “CASTRO”, would light up. Then it would go dark, and the sequence would begin again. Whenever I think of that theater and those days long ago, I hear a voice in my head that says: C-A-S-T-R-O......CASTRO.

I know the theater still exists, but I doubt its customers even romotely resemble the audience of those days, such as the one that filled the theater when I attended the showing of Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock” in ’57.




The Hamm’s Brewery sign was fascinating. From the darkness, a huge glass on top of the building would slowly fill with amber “beer” (with small bubbles and foam at the top) , remain lit for a few moments of enjoyment, and then go dark. I wonder how many times I watched that glass fill?







I found this painting of the sign atop the brewery---I’m glad somebody managed to catch the flavor of that wonderful work of art.

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To Live the Life:

"To be no cause of grief to anyone.

To be kind to all people and to love them with a pure spirit.

Should opposition or injury happen to us, to bear it, to be as kind as ever can be, and through all, to love the people. Should calamity exist in the greatest degree, to rejoice, for these things are the gifts and favors of God.

To be silent concerning the faults of others, to pray for them, and to help them, through kindness, to correct their faults.

To look always at the good and not at the bad. If a man has ten good qualities and one bad one, look at the ten and forget the one. And if a man has ten bad qualities and one good one, to look at the one and forget the ten.

Never to allow ourselves to speak one unkind word about another, even though that other be our enemy.

To do all of our deeds in kindness.

To cut our hearts from ourselves and from the world.

To be humble.

To be servants of each other, and to know that we are less than anyone else.

To be as one soul in many bodies, for the more we love each other, the nearer we shall be to God; but to know that our love, our unity, our obedience must not be by confession, but of reality.

To act with cautiousness and wisdom.

To be truthful.

To be hospitable.

To be reverent.

To be the cause of healing for every sick one,
a comforter for every sorrowful one,
a pleasant water for every thirsty one.
a heavenly table for every hungry one,
a star to every horizon,
a light for every lamp,
a herald to everyone who yearns for the kingdom of God"

`Abdu'l-Bahá


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Zebras


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A few sketches from around Tacoma.

I couldn't finish this one--it started raining.


This is the Tilted Cone, at the Museum of Glass. Inside is a hotshop, where glass is blown.


The Thea Foss Waterway.

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I just looked at some of my older posts, and noticed that I've already posted a couple of these sketches. Am I getting old, or what?

Thea

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Fog

The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

--Carl Sandburg

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Some unfortunate album covers.

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Years ago I was attending a convention in NYC in late November, and as my mornings were free, I would explorer the city, it being my first visit to Manhattan. One of those mornings happened to be Thanksgiving, and as I stepped onto the sidewalk outside of my hotel, I noticed a number of people rushing in the direction of Times Square, which was several blocks away. When I asked somebody what was going on, he looked at me as if I had just crawled out from under a rock. "The Macy's Parade is about to start!" It took me completely by surprise, and before I knew it, I was caught up in the rush to Broadway.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience--I'll never forget a several stories high Woody Woodpecker floating down the concrete and steel canyon on his way to Macy's, the enthusiasm of the youthful performers, as well as the incredible size of the hands of heavyweight boxer Riddick Bowe as he waved to the crowd from atop a float, and finally Santa himself, looking kinda insignificant.

The crowd was friendly, and I soon struck up a conversation with a lady about my age who had just been transferred to NYC from Hollywood, where she worked for Capitol Records. She was holding a tiny dog, and she said his name was "Barry", which happens to be one of my aliases. We talked until the end of the parade, and then said goodbye. Later that night, as I sat alone in my hotel room, I started kicking myself---why in the world didn't I ask her out for Thanksgiving dinner? I knew she was alone, as she told me that she didn't know a soul in the city. Oh well, live and learn.

Several weeks later, as I was home on the West Coast, I thought I'd write her, and apologize for my social clumsiness. I wrote a brief note, and included a sketch of the Capitol Records building in Hollywood which I had drawn for her. I couldn't recall her name, so I addressed it "To the Woman with the Dog Named Barry", and the address of Capitol Records in New York City.

To my surprise, I received a response from her several weeks later, with photographs of the parade which she had taken, and a very interesting story. She said one day she happened to be in the mail room for the very first time at Capital Records, and she overheard a mail clerk yell to his coworker: "Hey Tom, here's a letter addressed 'To the Woman with the Dog Named Barry!'"

It's funny how things work like that sometimes.

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One of Joe's favorite songs/groups from the 'British Invasion' in the mid-60's.



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A few sketches...

The Gorge, Big Sur



Carmel Beach



Point Lobos


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"Procrastination" Tales Of Mere Existence

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Backyard Colors.

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These two guys are having a birthday today.



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Joe's favorite paintings of Vincent Van Gogh.


Cafe at Night.



The Night Cafe




Starry Night Over the Rhone.





Wheatfield with Crows



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LUIS BARRAGÁN (1902-1988) was one of Mexico’s most influential 20th century architects. Famed for his mastery of space and light, he reinvented the International Style as a colourful, sensuous genre of Mexican modernism.

Although not quite down-and-out, Luis Barragán (1902-1988) had certainly hit a rough patch when a letter arrived at his Mexico City studio in 1975 asking if the Museum of Modern Art in New York could stage a retrospective of his career.

Then 73, Barragán had built nothing outside his native Mexico, and was virtually forgotten there. He was so hard-up that he occasionally sold letters, sketches and books from his archive to make ends meet. But the beauty and orginality of Barragán's buildings - like the Tlálpan Convent and Torri Satélite in Mexico City - had made him a legend among his fellow architects, and they lobbied hard for his MoMA exhibition. A few years later, Luis Barragán was awarded the Pritzker Prize, architecture's answer to the Nobel.

Barragán is now regarded as one of the most important architects of the 20th century. His buildings are renowned for their mastery of space and light, but Barragán was equally influential as a landscape architect and urban planner. Cited as an inspiration by a succession of other Pritzker winners - from Tadao Ando and Frank Gehry, to Rem Koolhaas - he is one of the handful of architects who succeeded in creating their own version of modernism by imbuing it with the warmth and vibrance of his native Mexico. (Quoted from designmuseum.org)






























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A TRIBUTE TO BAHÁ'I ARTISTS AROUND THE WORLD