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Anathem - an evening with Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson's long-awaited book Anathem will be released to the public on Tuesday September 9, 02008. Join us on this evening to hear the author read from his new work and converse with Stewart Brand and Danny Hillis of The Long Now Foundation. We'll also have a special musical performance of math-based chanting created for Anathem by composer David Stutz . A book signing, reception and all-around celebration will follow (we'll have a cash bar too). Additional copies of the book will also be for sale at the event, but we can only guarantee that pre-ordered books will be signed.
The concept behind Anathem germinated in 01999* when Danny Hillis asked Stephenson and several other contributors to sketch out their ideas of what Long Now's 10,000 Year Clock might look like. Stephenson tossed off a quick sketch and promptly forgot about it. Five years later, however, when he was between projects, the idea came back to him and he began to explore the possibility of building a novel around it - Anathem is the result.
"It is a great story, set in an alternative reality where people take long-term thinking seriously." -Danny Hillis
"Long Now’s 10,000-year clock inspired Neal Stephenson’s new story, Anathem, and now Anathem is inspiring the Long Now. In ten centuries, no one will be sure which came first." -Kevin Kelly
Tickets are $10 for the event only, or $42.50 for the event and a SIGNED copy of Anathem ($10 ticket and $32.50 book, includes tax -- only pre-ordered books are guaranteed to be signed).
Members of The Long Now Foundation receive a complimentary ticket with RSVP, and can choose to pre-order a SIGNED copy of Anathem for $32.50 when they RSVP (only pre-ordered books are guaranteed to be signed).
Tickets and Member RSVP are available through Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/42323
We will also be doing a live stream of this event at 7pm PST on 9/9/08 on http://www.longnow.org/anathem/ Neal Stephenson's long-awaited book Anathem will be released to the public on Tuesday September 9, 02008. Join us on this evenin... more -
Same sex marriage pioneer dies
Del Martin, a pioneering lesbian rights activist who married her lifelong partner on the first day same-sex couples could legally wed in California, has died. She was 87.
This is so sad. A couple for 55 years, these incredible women were pioneers of same-sex marriage in California.
Martin and Lyon, who in 1955 co-founded the nation's first outspoken advocacy group for lesbians, the Daughters of Bilitis, were married at San Francisco City Hall on June 16, 2008. Del Martin, a pioneering lesbian rights activist who married her lifelong partner on the first day same-sex couples could legally wed ... more -
Artist: Ezra Li
This Current Gallery profiles the work of Oakland, California Artist: Ezra Li http://www.ezrali.com
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Fixed-Gear Fantasies
If you're into fixed-gear, single-speed bicycles, check out these companies offering custom made rides.
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The Darkside Of Donuts
Theres a darkside to donuts kid, right there in San Francisco. Join beekeeper Jon Rolston and listen to his thoughts on donut shops after midnight. Theres a darkside to donuts kid, right there in San Francisco. Join beekeeper Jon Rolston and listen to his thoughts on donut shops a... more
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What the helmet?
With a claim that bike lanes increase pollution, a San Francisco resident has managed to put the brakes on the city's pro-biking plans. In 2004, San Francisco unveiled a proposal to create more bike lanes and bike parking, aiming to have 10 percent of city trips taken on two wheels by 2010. Enter Rob Anderson, who doesn't own a car but is no fan of cyclists. "The behavior of the bike people on city streets is always annoying," he says. "This 'Get out of my way, I'm not burning fossil fuels.'" Anderson sued the city to make it do an environmental impact review, saying that giving more street space to bicyclists will lead to more air pollution from cars idled in traffic jams. He won, halting the city's plans. Officials are moving slowly on the review, hoping to cover all their bases to keep Anderson from suing again -- as he's already pondering. "Regardless of the obvious dangers," he wrote on his blog, "some people will ride bikes in San Francisco for the same reason Islamic fanatics will engage in suicide bombings -- because they are politically motivated to do so." With a claim that bike lanes increase pollution, a San Francisco resident has managed to put the brakes on the city's pro-biking ... more
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Honey bee crisis & Ice Cream
What causes honeybee colonies to collapse?
Why do 36 states have honeybees with this disorder and not other states?
Are pesticides part of the problem?
What role does hybridized corn seed created by Monsanto have on honey bee colonies?
What do we know about the genetic makeup of honeybees and how they are affected by pesticides and other toxic chemicals such as pest control products?
These are all questions that were discussed on on KQED just today. It was a great discussion but answering these questions was almost impossible.
These are the facts.
Honeybees, which pollinate everything from almonds to apples to avocados, began abandoning their colonies in 2006, destroying about a third of their hives.
Since then, their numbers have not improved. A survey of beekeepers in the fall and winter 2007 by the Bee Research Lab and the Apiary Inspectors of America showed that beekeepers lost about 35 percent of their hives compared with 31 percent in 2006.
Scientists have not pinpointed the cause.
In 2007, Congress recognized colony collapse disorder as a threat and gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture emergency funds to study honeybee disappearances. In addition, the 2008 Farm Bill grants the USDA $20 million each year to support bee research and related work. And earlier this year, ice cream maker Haagen-Dazs, who relies on honeybees for 40 percent of its flavors, awarded a $250,000 research grant to UC Davis and Pennsylvania State University to research honeybees.
Recently
Published on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 by the San Francisco Chronicle
Lawsuit Seeks EPA Pesticide Data
by Jane Kay
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to disclose records about a new class of pesticides that could be playing a role in the disappearance of millions of honeybees in the United States, a lawsuit filed Monday charges.
The Natural Resources Defense Council wants to see the studies that the EPA required when it approved a pesticide made by Bayer CropScience five years ago.
The environmental group filed the suit as part of an effort to find out how diligently the EPA is protecting honeybees from dangerous pesticides, said Aaron Colangelo, a lawyer for the group in Washington.
In the last two years, beekeepers have reported unexplained losses of hives - 30 percent and upward - leading to a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder. Scientists believe that the decline in bees is linked to an onslaught of pesticides, mites, parasites and viruses, as well as a loss of habitat and food.
please go to this link for more...
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/19/11070/
Also recommended is this book
Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis by Rowan Jacobsen
Talking and learning what is going on around us will help change this crisis.
X What causes honeybee colonies to collapse? Why do 36 states have honeybees with this disorder and not other states? ... more -
Brother in SF tiger attack case going to prison
One of two brothers wounded in a Christmas Day tiger attack in San Francisco has been sentenced to 16 months in state prison, after a judge ruled he violated his probation in connection to an April 2007 incident in San Jose which he fled from police in a high speed chase.
[...]
Dhaliwal's brother, Kulbir, will be in Santa Clara County Court on Monday. He faces misdemeanor charges of public drunkenness and resisting arrest, related to a September 2007 confrontation between police and the two brothers, not far from their San Jose home. One of two brothers wounded in a Christmas Day tiger attack in San Francisco has been sentenced to 16 months in state prison, after a ... more -
Manta ray appears on San Francisco sidewalk
People returning from lunch in San Francisco were stunned to find a manta ray flapping around on the sidewalk in the busy SoMa district of San Francisco.
So thats where I left my manta ray! People returning from lunch in San Francisco were stunned to find a manta ray flapping around on the sidewalk in the busy SoMa distric... more -
Slow Food Rocks
Find out why "slow food" is good food while taking in some live music from Gnarls Barkley, the John Butler Trio and the New Pornographers. The Slow Food Rocks music festival comes to San Francisco on Labor Day weekend. Find out why "slow food" is good food while taking in some live music from Gnarls Barkley, the John Butler Trio and the New ... more
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War & Empire at the Meridian Gallery
Pictured above:
Not Our Children, Not Their Children - Mark Vallen. Pencil on paper. 2003. To be displayed at the upcoming War & Empire exhibit at San Francisco’s Meridian Gallery.
Coming this September, 2008, San Francisco’s Meridian Gallery will present War and Empire, a group exhibition that has as its theme the state of democracy in the U.S. - as well as the continuing military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Famed Columbian artist Fernando Botero will have two paintings from his powerful Abu Ghraib series included in the War & Empire exhibit. On loan from the American University Museum in Washington, D.C., the paintings will most assuredly be a focal point of the exhibit; but I am equally excited over a number of the other artists included in the show - Gee Vaucher, Sandow Birk, and Patrick Oliphant to name but a few.
Painter Guy Colwell will also be a participating artist. When Abuse, his canvas depicting the torture of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. jailers was displayed at San Francisco’s Capobianco Gallery in May, 2004, rightist thugs physically assaulted gallery owner Lori Haigh, and through a campaign of unrelenting threat and harassment forced her to permanently close her gallery. Colwell essentially went underground in order to avoid harm. Triumphantly, Colwell’s controversial painting will be shown at the Meridian Gallery exhibit along with This Is Not Torture, the artist’s latest drawing on the subject of waterboarding.
War & Empire is part of the Art of Democracy project first conceptualized around two years ago by San Francisco printmaker and painter Art Hazelwood, and Stephen Fredericks of the National Arts Club of New York. Art of Democracy gelled into a nationwide coalition of artists and venues who will be mounting art shows across the country in the run-up period just prior to the 2008 election. The Meridian Gallery exhibit opens on September 4, 2008, and runs until the evening of the U.S. presidential election - November 4, 2008. Pictured above: ... more -
Lab makes renewable diesel fuel from E. coli poop?
Video at Link
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, California -- Fossil fuels that keep our planet running -- oil, natural gas and coal -- were created from the decomposition of plants, plankton and other organic material over millions of years.
Today, scientists all over the globe are working to create fuels with the same properties but without that pesky 100 million-year wait. And "renewable petroleum" is now a reality, on a small scale, in some laboratories.
The biotech company LS9 Inc. is using single-celled bacteria to create an oil equivalent. These petroleum "production facilities" are so small, you can see them only under a microscope.
"We started in my garage two years ago, and we're producing barrels today, so things are moving pretty quickly," said biochemist Stephen del Cardayre, LS9 vice president of research and development.
How does it work? A special type of genetically altered bacteria are fed plant material: basically, any type of sugar. They digest it and excrete the equivalent of diesel fuel.
Humans have used bacteria and yeast for centuries to do similar work, creating beer, moonshine and, more recently, ethanol. But scientists' recent strides in genetic engineering now allow them to control the end product. Video at Link ... more -
DIY Days - San Francisco
Learn how to produce, distribute and fund your film without big studio support.
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African Americans are deserting San Francisco
African Americans are leaving San Francisco because of substandard schools, a lack of affordable housing and the dearth of jobs and black culture, according to a report by a committee looking into the exodus.
San Francisco's black population has dropped faster than that of any other large U.S. city's. It went from 13.4 percent in 1970 to an estimated 6.5 percent in 2005, according to the census. Nationally, African Americans make up 12.1 percent of the population.
Much of the blame has been placed on the Redevelopment Agency, which intentionally drove black families and businesses from the Fillmore district in the 1960s and 1970s. African Americans are leaving San Francisco because of substandard schools, a lack of affordable housing and the dearth of jobs and bl... more -
Thanks Sen. Boxer
In April 2007, the Supreme Court overruled the EPA and established that greenhouse gas emissions are clearly covered by the Clean Air Act. A first step to regulation is a finding that global warming pollution "endangers public health or welfare."
CDC's original testimony clearly would have supported an endangerment finding -- and that's why the White House tried to suppress it. Fortunately, thanks to the free press and the work of congressional committees, the CDC's concerns were made known.
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency told the White House in December that high levels of manmade heat-trapping gases are causing global warming and endanger the American people, Sen. Barbara Boxer said Thursday after she reviewed the EPA finding, which has not been made public.
The Supreme Court ruled last year that if the EPA administrator finds greenhouse gases endanger the public, then the government must regulate them - a move the Bush administration opposes.
"This is the strongest language I have ever seen or that you have ever seen, and they are trying to lock it away," said Boxer, D-Calif., who took notes on the document and shared them with reporters. "The document belongs in the hands of the American people."
Boxer said the key excerpt was: "In sum, the administrator is proposing to find that elevated levels of greenhouse gas concentrations may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public welfare ....
Demand change, clean air and open spaces!!
Go here for the full article
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-barbara-boxer/white-h... In April 2007, the Supreme Court overruled the EPA and established that greenhouse gas emissions are clearly covered by the Clean Air ... more -
Virgin America Celebrates First Anniversary
A year ago, San Francisco-based Virgin America Airlines made its inaugural flight from SFO to NYC.
Did you know that you can watch Current TV on Virgin America flights? It's true! And you should!
(I might be biased) A year ago, San Francisco-based Virgin America Airlines made its inaugural flight from SFO to NYC. ... more -
Sunday Streets in SF!
The city will open up a stretch of roadway connecting the Bayview district to Chinatown and running along the city’s waterfront. This route will be available for physical activities from 9AM to 1PM on Sunday, Aug 31, 2008 and again on Sunday Sept. 14, 2008.
So who will benefit?
Sunday Streets offers free and fun physical activity space to all San Franciscans and provides open space in neighborhoods that lack such space currently. Local businesses will also benefit from increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic along commercial corridors. The events provide a model of how cities can provide healthy, environmental friendly outdoor activities for their residents.
It is truly a privilege to be part of an awesome city that allows these sort of awesome events... The city will open up a stretch of roadway connecting the Bayview district to Chinatown and running along the city’s waterfront. This... more -
Current TV @ DIY Days, San Francisco: Aug. 17th, '08
SAN FRANCISCO
Sunday Aug 17th
111 Minna Gallery
If you would like to secure a space at DIY DAYS SF please register!
Speakers include
Tiffany Shlain - The Tribe, founder of the Moxie Institute
Caveh Zahedi - I’m a Sex Addict
Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer - Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Jason Harris - Mekanism
Brian Chirls - Three Eyed Labs
Jerry Paffendorf - Wello Horld
Skot Leach - Lost Zombie
Arin Crumley - Four Eyed Monsters
Lance Weiler - Head Trauma, The Last Broadcast
M dot Strange - We Are the Strange
Saskia Wilson-Brown - Current TV
Alex Afterman - Heretic Films
Slava Rubin - indiegogo
Scilla Andreen - IndieFlix
Tom Hicks - Caachi
Sara Pollack - youTube
Many more to be added so check back SAN FRANCISCO Sunday Aug 17th 111 Minna Gallery If you would like to secure a space at DIY DAYS SF please register! ... more -
Fresh Start
Things purify once those things that aren't are let go of. Then your endeavors become beautifully worthwhile and truly meaningful. -Ross Martin
This film is a quick raw look into the daily life of a paraplegic San Franciscan... Take a look, see for yourself... Things purify once those things that aren't are let go of. Then your endeavors become beautifully worthwhile and truly meaningfu... more
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