San Francisco’s Pier 39 celebrated its 45th anniversary Saturday with a nighttime drone light show and other festivities.

Pier 39 is a must-see attraction for many visitors along San Francisco’s waterfront.

There is a drone light show that is expected to start at 9 p.m. Along with music and a DJ set, there were street performers at the pier that’s known for its shops, attractions and restaurants, including a newer offering, taco cantina.

While other parts of city are still dealing with the struggles, foot traffic here is moving and the sea lions are always a popular stop.

Christie Smith has more in the video above.

The post San Francisco’s Pier 39 holds forty fifth anniversary actions – NBC Bay Space appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Dean Short made a career out of transporting Tucsonans out of the desert, by bringing elsewhere to us. Props have been central to the game: a neon gas lamp, larger than life, outside of Ye Olde Lantern steakhouse; a steer statue on the roof of Cow Town in Amado; the Wild West movie set appeal of El Corral. Nowhere, though, were the props more extravagant, or more central, than Kon Tiki.

The windowless bar is dressed from floor to ceiling like a Polynesian outpost that exists more in the American historical imagination than in Tahiti. The tropical kitsch conjures a place totally unlike Tucson: a water fountain homed in a giant clam, lamps like enormous marbles hanging from the ceiling in fishing nets, dining room separators made of stacked coconuts.

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Live animals have been used. What is now used as a patio was once an aviary of parrots. All of the tropical fish in their tank were born in it: the colony has been self-sustaining for decades.

The rum-forward menu was taken from its forbears like Trader Vic’s: almond-tinged mai tais, technicolor blue Hawaiis, potent zombies, fruity pain killers and their specialty, the scorpion bowl.

A “Pain Killer” at Kon Tiki contains Zaya Caribbean rum, Nephew overproof rum, a coconut milk base, and a dash of elderflower.

Grace Trejo, Arizona Daily Star

“A single scorpion is four shots of liquor with elixirs, juices, all secrets. I couldn’t reveal what’s in it. But I know there’s only a handful of people who know (Kon Tiki’s) exact recipe,” Jeffrey Glomski, the current general manager of Kon Tiki, said.

Both Short and the tiki fad were in their fullest powers in the ’60s, when Short opened Kon Tiki, 4625 E. Broadway. Short recruited the acclaimed tiki artist, Milan Guanko, to carve the idol guarding the bar’s entrance and design a signature mug that has, like many in the annals of tiki, become a collector’s item.

Kon Tiki is releasing another collector’s item on Sept. 24. They are celebrating their 60th anniversary with a run of 120 tiki mugs, along with other ephemera like swizzle sticks in the design of the Milan Guanko idol. Flash in the Past Studio is organizing the anniversary party, complete with a DJ set and limited-edition cocktails. Tickets for the event, which starts at 6 p.m., cost $10. Vintage attire is encouraged.

Kon Tiki is one of the oldest operational tiki bars in America. The bar is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Sept. 24 with a party.

Grace Trejo, Arizona Daily Star

“If you ask me what I’d like people to know about the tiki, it’s that there is an oasis, an escape, here in Tucson. It’s just tucked behind trees and buildings. Been here for the last 60 years. And, yeah, you know, it’d be great to see it around for another 60,” Glomski said.

Kon Tiki is the fifth-oldest operational tiki bar in the country. Its peers are all in bigger cities than Tucson: San Francisco, where the tiki trend started; Los Angeles and Chicago.

“It’s a cool place, it’s something different,” Glomski said. “I believe now, we’re only one of two places (in Tucson) that serve that kind of cuisine. Everybody else has closed down. Times are a lot different now than they were 20 years ago. When I started off in this business, it was back in the ’80s, it seemed like people went out more. Now, people are cautious about how they spend their money. Cost of living has gone up, wages, you know, it seems like it’s a whole different place nowadays, you know?”

“It’s been around for 60 years, so people who came there at that time are on their way out, unfortunately. I know that I’ve seen a handful of people who have passed away since I’ve been there who were regulars,” he said.

Bartender Anna Monosmith prepares a drink for a customer at Kon Tiki on Aug. 5, 2022.

Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Kon Tiki might not have made it to 60 without its current owner, Paul Christopher. Christopher started at Kon Tiki as a dishwasher over 30 years ago and worked his way through all the service stations up to bartender. He learned the intricate, in-house variations of famously complex tiki cocktails. When a former owner was looking to sell the bar, Christopher purchased the entire property.

“The owner owning the building is a big thing. Would it have made it through COVID if it wasn’t? Probably not,” Glomski said.

Tiki has a devoted community: while some are interested in the props, the mugs and stage work, others seek mastery of the challenging cocktails. Kon Tiki’s status as the longest established tiki bar in the southwest might have attracted particularly dedicated staff.

The island themed bar at Kon Tiki transports Tucsonans to another place.

Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star 2022

“Y’know, that’s a whole culture out there,” Glomski said.

“There’s definitely a couple of die-hards out there,” Glomski said. “I just recently lost one who moved to Hawaii. That was in the last six months. Daniel (Wadsworth) was there from before when I started there (five years ago), so. He lived and bled tiki. He had a friend who lived out there and was a bartender at some resort. I think he’ll always be a bartender. He’s just that personality.”

Kon Tiki has been serving Tucson for 60 years. 

Chris Coduto, for the Arizona Daily Star 2007

Kon Tiki’s greatest asset also presents a great challenge: time. The decor and drinks, like their scorpion bowls, have been preserved by many generations of owners, bartenders and patrons. Glomski, a chef and former restaurateur, was hired to update the menu, but he had to keep corny classics like monkey on a stick (marinated beef skewers) central to their offerings.

“They basically made their little oasis here in the desert. I’m not going to say the recipes have changed throughout the years to what they are now. (These are) basic recipes you know, from way back then,” Glomski said.

“We try to maintain it as best we can, which can be a challenge at times: plumbing and things like that, you know, erode away over time,” Glomski said.

Kon Tiki, which featured South Sea island and American food, is shown here just before opening for customers in January 1962.

Tucson Citizen

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The post Tucson bar Kon Tiki rejoice sixtieth anniversary appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Dean Short made a career out of transporting Tucsonans out of the desert, by bringing elsewhere to us. Props have been central to the game: a neon gas lamp, larger than life, outside of Ye Olde Lantern steakhouse; a steer statue on the roof of Cow Town in Amado; the Wild West movie set appeal of El Corral. Nowhere, though, were the props more extravagant, or more central, than Kon Tiki.

The windowless bar is dressed from floor to ceiling like a Polynesian outpost that exists more in the American historical imagination than in Tahiti. The tropical kitsch conjures a place totally unlike Tucson: a water fountain homed in a giant clam, lamps like enormous marbles hanging from the ceiling in fishing nets, dining room separators made of stacked coconuts.

Live animals have been used. What is now used as a patio was once an aviary of parrots. All of the tropical fish in their tank were born in it: the colony has been self-sustaining for decades.

The rum-forward menu was taken from its forbears like Trader Vic’s: almond-tinged mai tais, technicolor blue Hawaiis, potent zombies, fruity pain killers and their specialty, the scorpion bowl.

A “Pain Killer” at Kon Tiki contains Zaya Caribbean rum, Nephew overproof rum, a coconut milk base, and a dash of elderflower.

Grace Trejo, Arizona Daily Star

“A single scorpion is four shots of liquor with elixirs, juices, all secrets. I couldn’t reveal what’s in it. But I know there’s only a handful of people who know (Kon Tiki’s) exact recipe,” Jeffrey Glomski, the current general manager of Kon Tiki, said.

Both Short and the tiki fad were in their fullest powers in the ’60s, when Short opened Kon Tiki, 4625 E. Broadway. Short recruited the acclaimed tiki artist, Milan Guanko, to carve the idol guarding the bar’s entrance and design a signature mug that has, like many in the annals of tiki, become a collector’s item.

Kon Tiki is releasing another collector’s item on Sept. 24. They are celebrating their 60th anniversary with a run of 120 tiki mugs, along with other ephemera like swizzle sticks in the design of the Milan Guanko idol. Flash in the Past Studio is organizing the anniversary party, complete with a DJ set and limited-edition cocktails. Tickets for the event, which starts at 6 p.m., cost $10. Vintage attire is encouraged.

The main dining room inside of Kon Tiki during dinner time on Sept. 7.

Grace Trejo, Arizona Daily Star

“If you ask me what I’d like people to know about the tiki, it’s that there is an oasis, an escape, here in Tucson. It’s just tucked behind trees and buildings. Been here for the last 60 years. And, yeah, you know, it’d be great to see it around for another 60,” Glomski said.

Kon Tiki is the fifth-oldest operational tiki bar in the country. Its peers are all in bigger cities than Tucson: San Francisco, where the tiki trend started; Los Angeles and Chicago.

“It’s a cool place, it’s something different,” Glomski said. “I believe now, we’re only one of two places (in Tucson) that serve that kind of cuisine. Everybody else has closed down. Times are a lot different now than they were 20 years ago. When I started off in this business, it was back in the ’80s, it seemed like people went out more. Now, people are cautious about how they spend their money. Cost of living has gone up, wages, you know, it seems like it’s a whole different place nowadays, you know?”

“It’s been around for 60 years, so people who came there at that time are on their way out, unfortunately. I know that I’ve seen a handful of people who have passed away since I’ve been there who were regulars,” he said.

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Bartender Anna Monosmith prepares a drink for a customer at Kon Tiki on Aug. 5, 2022.

Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

Kon Tiki might not have made it to 60 without its current owner, Paul Christopher. Christopher started at Kon Tiki as a dishwasher over 30 years ago and worked his way through all the service stations up to bartender. He learned the intricate, in-house variations of famously complex tiki cocktails. When a former owner was looking to sell the bar, Christopher purchased the entire property.

“The owner owning the building is a big thing. Would it have made it through COVID if it wasn’t? Probably not,” Glomski said.

Tiki has a devoted community: while some are interested in the props, the mugs and stage work, others seek mastery of the challenging cocktails. Kon Tiki’s status as the longest established tiki bar in the southwest might have attracted particularly dedicated staff.

The island themed bar at Kon Tiki transports Tucsonans to another place.

Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star 2022

“Y’know, that’s a whole culture out there,” Glomski said.

“There’s definitely a couple of die-hards out there,” Glomski said. “I just recently lost one who moved to Hawaii. That was in the last six months. Daniel (Wadsworth) was there from before when I started there (five years ago), so. He lived and bled tiki. He had a friend who lived out there and was a bartender at some resort. I think he’ll always be a bartender. He’s just that personality.”

Kon Tiki has been serving Tucson for 60 years. 

Chris Coduto, for the Arizona Daily Star 2007

Kon Tiki’s greatest asset also presents a great challenge: time. The decor and drinks, like their scorpion bowls, have been preserved by many generations of owners, bartenders and patrons. Glomski, a chef and former restaurateur, was hired to update the menu, but he had to keep corny classics like monkey on a stick (marinated beef skewers) central to their offerings.

“They basically made their little oasis here in the desert. I’m not going to say the recipes have changed throughout the years to what they are now. (These are) basic recipes you know, from way back then,” Glomski said.

“We try to maintain it as best we can, which can be a challenge at times: plumbing and things like that, you know, erode away over time,” Glomski said.

Kon Tiki, which featured South Sea island and American food, is shown here just before opening for customers in January 1962.

Tucson Citizen

The post Tucson bar Kon Tiki have fun sixtieth anniversary | eat appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Western Pool & Spa Show, which has been held annually in Long Beach, California for 30 years. Last year, over 10,000 pool and spa industry professionals attended the Western Pool & Spa Show, making it one of the busiest national shows in the country.

The Western Pool & Spa Show celebrates 2 milestones

We recently had the chance to speak with Eric Nielson, Director of The Western Pool & Spa Show, on The Pool Magazine Podcast. He gave us an insight into the history behind the annual event.

“It started as a small table and has grown, and this will also be our 30th year in the city that has become our home, Long Beach. So there are two milestones that we’re kind of celebrating,” Nielson said.

“Years ago, there was a small group of manufacturers, sales reps, and a few pool guys who just got together and said, ‘Hey, maybe we should do something to educate people out there in the San Fernando Valley,'” Nielson said.

“They put together a small event in Studio City and it grew into something bigger. I think it was Ray Pak or one of the heater manufacturers who said, ‘Hey, could we maybe have one of our products on the hall?’ and that was the momentum of the exhibition space. So they started with that and then they brought in more things and it just grew and grew from there. From there it moved to the convention center in Pasadena and then we grew beyond that. Then there was a bit of time in Anaheim and now we’ve been in Long Beach for 30 years,” Nielson explained.

Check out the highlights from last year’s Western Pool & Spa Show

The Western Show has evolved and offers something for everyone

The Western Show, as it is known in the industry, has certainly evolved over the years from being traditionally known as the ‘Service Show’ to more involving the pool building side of the industry. With a wide range of educational opportunities and seminars available to participants, it also offers excellent value for participants.

The show, which runs March 23-35, is open for pool trading only. Registration is required and includes workshops on how to become a CPO, electrical and plumbing seminars, and workshops available in Spanish.

“We’re all volunteers and we’re focused on education,” said Nielson, “everything we do is geared towards being able to provide this quality education opportunity to the industry. This year we have many different courses that people can attend and use at a very reasonable price. For $115. You can come all three days and take one of the 90 different courses, including programs for Spanish speakers. You really can’t get that anywhere else.”

Educational workshops are held by Pentair, Hayward and Fluidra, as well as Watershape University, Pool Nation, Orenda Technologies, Taylor Technologies, PAL Lighting and many others. The lesson schedule and exhibition times for this event are as follows:

Thursday March 23, 2023

Education: 1:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m
Exhibition times: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m

Friday March 24, 2023

Education: 8:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m
Exhibition times: 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m

Friday March 24, 2023

Education: 8:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m
Exhibition times: 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m

The Western Pool & Spa Show is giving away prize draws every hour and there is a big giveaway at the end of the event. “We’ll be giving away $20,000 in cash,” Nielson said, “In total, we also gave away almost $60,000 in prizes last year. Second prize last year we had a pump, a heater, a filter, a whole set of equipment from Pentair. We have hourly draws. This year we are working with AquaCal Autopilot. They’re donating a heat pump worth about $9,000.”

Check out highlights from last year’s big giveaway event at the Western Pool & Spa Show

The Western Show is also a great opportunity to network with industry professionals, distributors and manufacturers and learn about the latest products and innovations. For those on the west coast, it remains one of the easiest shows to get to and offers some of the best offerings in terms of pool pro education opportunities.

Pool Magazine will definitely be in the house too, so be sure to stop by our booth (#216) and pick up the spring issue featuring Lucas Congdon, host of Insane Pools and owner of Lucas Lagoons.

Want to know more about the Western Pool & Spa Show? Listen to our conversation with Eric Nielson on the Pool Magazine podcast.

The post Western Pool & Spa Present Celebrating forty fifth Anniversary – PoolMagazine.com appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

THEM! courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation

When everyone lives in the future, the present is au revoir.
—Delta Nudes

Last Christmas marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Residents’ first release, “Santa Dog.” Ralph Records gave away most of the initial pressing as a free gift, mailing copies of the double seven-inch record, which presented itself as a compilation of songs by four groovy groups, to friends, tastemakers, and prominent figures.

If the White House had not refused its complimentary copy of “Santa Dog,” President Nixon, his wife Pat, and their daughters, Tricia and Julie, would not have been deprived of the chance to spin it a few times on the Blue Room hi-fi as the Yule log crackled in the fireplace and the bombs of Operation Linebacker II pulverized North Vietnam. Though side one, “Fire,” credited to Ivory and the Brain Eaters, would have been the Nixons’ likely favorite, the First Family would have read in the sleeve notes that side four, “Aircraft Damage” (B Barnes–C America), credited to Arf and Omega featuring the Singing Lawn Chairs, was “FROM THE RALPH FILM ‘VILENESS FATS’ COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU.”

Fifty years is a long time. Today, Dick and Pat are buried in the cold ground, original copies of “Santa Dog” fetch as much as a Pontiac Grand Prix, and you can tell Tricia and Julie that Vileness Fats really is coming to a theater near them! Sort of: every date of the imminent “Faceless Forever” U.S. tour will open with a screening of Triple Trouble, the Residents’ new feature film, which revisits their abandoned movie project of the early seventies and incorporates some of its footage into a brain-syruping psychodrama about Randy Rose, Jr., a lapsed priest harried by fungus in his encore career as a plumber.

Like the new Residents encyclopedia by Jim Knipfel and Brian Poole (also titled Faceless Forever), the Triple Trouble screenings and live shows are part of the Residents’ fiftieth anniversary festivities. I caught up with the group’s spokesperson, Cryptic Corporation President Homer Flynn, who once again graciously fielded my questions about the Residents’ diet, wardrobe, hair products, LaserDisc easter eggs and CD-ROM cheat codes.

In the atomic shopping carts, 1974 (courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation)

What can you tell me about the tour?

Well, you know, it’s a fiftieth anniversary tour, so it’s really retrospective. I mean, the selection of material for this tour, you know, came about in a kind of almost random, haphazard way. I mean, this is the third time it’s been scheduled. So it started out two, three years ago as a “Dog Stab” tour with the idea at that time that we were mainly interested in having them promote the Metal, Meat & Bone album, which was new at that point. But then we added a good chunk of Duck Stab! material to that. Kind of trying to come up with a balance between what was new and we wanted to promote and what the band wanted to play and then what the fans were interested in. And then that tour got cancelled, and then rescheduled and slightly jiggered around a little bit, and then that one got cancelled.

Well, by the time that happened, we were looking at the fiftieth anniversary and Metal, Meat & Bone, while everybody likes the album, it’s still not as relevant from a marketing and promo point of view. So ultimately, we left a good chunk of Metal, Meat & Bone in there, left a good chunk of Duck Stab! And then ultimately, they filled in with a lot of other classic Residents material. And I think it’s a good set. [Laughs] It’s not the way anybody would have chosen to put it together, but the last three years have been crazy. What can you say?
 

At the Golden Gate Bridge, 1979 (courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation)

I’m still kicking myself for missing the Duck Stab! shows. There was a Third Reich ‘n Roll encore?

There was indeed. Yeah, and you know they had a lot of fun with that. I mean, you know interestingly, there is a guy, [Scott Colburn], an audio engineer in Seattle, who has been doing a lot of the remastering of the back catalog series that Cherry Red has been putting out, and he’s a huge fan. He’s a great guy. And basically, he volunteered to go back and digitize all of the old multitrack original tapes. So all of a sudden, you know, you could take all of the original tracks from Duck Stab! and put them into Logic if you wanted to. And then all of a sudden that material was accessible again, and they got very excited about that idea.

They only did, that was kind of like, I call it the “California mini-tour.” It was the tour a year and a half ago that then ultimately, most of it was canceled other than four or five, three or four California shows. So they never really got to the point with the Third Reich ‘n Roll material where they were super comfortable with it, because part of what’s happening is stuff is coming from the original tapes, and then part of it is being played, and it’s all pretty loose. And I think everybody would agree that some of it works better than others.

But I think they have in mind going back and revisiting that again. I mean, you know, they could do a suite from Eskimo if they wanted to. There’s a lot of possibilities with that material.

Since you mentioned it, there was a plan for an Eskimo opera or stage show at one time, right? But I don’t think that’s ever been a live show.

No, there never has. I mean, interestingly, this is my favorite story about that: there is a guy who was a programmer at the South Bank Center in London, a guy named Glenn Max. And Glenn was a big Residents fan. He booked them for a few different festivals and events while he was there. And there was a period, I don’t know, ten or twelve years ago, something like that, when the South Bank Center was shut down for remodeling, and he had it in his mind, he was looking for other venues around London in order to try to do different shows. One of his ideas was to do a version of Eskimo on ice.

That’s wonderful!

I was so enamored with that idea. But like, you know, it’s the Residents’ world. A lot of ideas have floated around that have never really taken root.
 

Portrait of a Resident, 1982 (courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation

I saw a screener of Triple Trouble yesterday, and I was wondering if there was a similar process for the soundtrack, because it does seem like there’s bits of Vileness Fats music and some kind of gamelan-sounding, maybe late- or mid-seventies Residents stuff kind of worked into that.

In a way, Triple Trouble is Vileness Fats brought forward, and so there is definitely nods to Vileness Fats within it and there are places where that soundtrack music was used. I mean, as far as the gamelan stuff goes, it makes me kind of curious as to what specifically you heard that you thought that about, ‘cause there’s no other—I’m trying to think—I don’t think there’s any other legacy material than Vileness Fats in there. I think all the rest of it was composed new.

I was probably using my imagination.

Well, the Residents love that. I mean, anytime they can enable somebody’s imagination, that’s a win.

I sort of thought of Al and Ollie Gump as maybe a reflection of Arf and Omega Berry, in terms of nods to Vileness Fats.

Yeah, yeah, well that’s definitely there. And you know, there was a whole script. You know, Triple Trouble is Triple Trouble because what happened was that, you know, filmmaker Don Hardy made a documentary on the Residents, Theory of Obscurity, in 2015. And he was in the process of gathering up as much Residents visual material as he could as he edited the film. And he became so intrigued with the original Vileness Fats material that ultimately that inspired the Residents, not so much to want to finish it, but really to kind of go back and revisit it, and they wrote the Double Trouble screenplay. The Double Trouble screenplay is where the protagonist of that has just found a footlocker full of all the original Vileness Fats material. He becomes obsessed with it and realizes that, or he fantasizes that, his own life is paralleling the life of the protagonist of Vileness Fats. And so that’s the reason why, you know, Al and Ollie are echoing Arf and Omega from Vileness Fats.

And interestingly, that idea for the protagonist whose life is echoing the life of a character in a fictitious world, ultimately, that came from a movie, I think it was 1946? Ronald Colman, and it was called A Double Life. I think that movie either won an Academy Award or Ronald Colman won an Academy Award for Best Actor for that. In that movie, Ronald Colman is playing Othello, I think, and starts feeling like his life is paralleling the life of Othello. It’s a very interesting movie. That’s kind of where they lifted that idea for the parallel lives. We were in the process of raising money for that film when the lockdown came along, bam!

At that point, we had raised some money, but nobody would contribute money. Things were so completely uncertain, it was impossible to raise more money. So the idea came up of, okay, let’s just see what we can do with the money that we’ve raised, wrote a new screenplay, and that became Triple Trouble. It’s a long and winding path.
 

Celebrating their 30th anniversary at the Golden Gate, 2002 (courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation)

Sutro Tower [which features prominently in Triple Trouble] was a big deal when the Residents came to San Francisco, I imagine, right? Wasn’t that a big local political issue?

It was, and that was right around that time. I forget exactly when Sutro Tower [went up], but I think it was ‘70, ‘71, ‘72, and ‘72 is when they started shooting Vileness Fats. So they were definitely overlapping there, and it was a big deal. I mean, you know, you always wonder how politicians pull stuff off, and it was like Sutro Tower just kind of appeared overnight [laughs]. And, you know, in some ways, it’s a monstrosity. In other ways, you know, it’s become kind of an interesting landmark over time. But I think if people had been given a choice as to whether that was going to go up or not, they would have definitely been thumbs down.

I guess it’s probably part of necessity and the fact that COVID lockdowns were going on. But watching the movie, often, when I think of San Francisco these days, I think of how much it’s changed over the last 30 or 40 years. But seeing these locations without any people in the background, I don’t know, it made me think that San Francisco maybe hadn’t changed all that much.

Well, I mean, you know, it’s kind of yes and no. I mean, people talk about how much it’s changed. You know, I moved here in 1969 and, you know, at that time and early, mid seventies and stuff, there were people that were telling me how much it had changed!

Right.

How great it was back in the fifties and stuff. San Francisco is a lovely city. I really enjoy living here. And there’s definitely a homeless problem, for sure. But I guess it’s worse than it had—it’s always been there. But I guess it’s worse. There certainly weren’t people sleeping in tents on sidewalks twenty years ago.

I mean, I tell people, and I think I find this fairly unique: San Francisco has become a kind of a magnet for young people twice over the course of my lifetime. The first time, it was the hippie era. And I was attracted to that magnet. That’s part of what got me out here. But then ten years ago, twelve, fifteen years ago, it was the tech industry. And there’s still a lot of young people flocking here because of that. But the interesting thing is how different the motivation for those young people were. The whole hippie thing was perhaps misguided, but very extremely idealistic. You know, where the tech thing, there may be some idealism in there, but a lot of it is more financially motivated.
 

‘Santa Dog ‘78’ (courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation)

Can you tell me anything about the genesis of the encyclopedia, how that came about?

Well, honestly, Richard [Anderson] is the one who kind of motivated that and honestly, I have to say, I was kind of skeptical at the time. You know, it seemed like an awful lot of work. You know, personally, I had too much, I was terrified [laughing] that they were gonna try to pull me into it, because I had too much stuff going on already. And then you know, [encyclopedia co-author] Jim Knipfel, I’m good friends with, and I can remember Jim reporting to me once or twice going, “Oh, God, this thing, it’s horrible. It’s just not coming together. Writing’s not very good, and blah, blah, blah.” And I’m going, ugh.

But then ultimately over time, Jim became convinced. And in all honesty, I have seen the book, I haven’t gone through it page by page, but I’ve actually been quite impressed with what I’ve seen.

Faceless Forever is the name of both the tour and the book. Is there any connection between those names?

No, not really.

Or maybe the better question is where the title came from.

It just kind of popped up in a conversation between me and some of the Residents. And they’ve been referred to any number of times by me and other people as “the Faceless Four,” kind of a nice, catchy alliteration. And there was just some point that the phrase “faceless forever” popped up. And I kind of went, oh, hmm, I have to go back and revisit that. And ultimately, it just more or less evolved into a branding term for the fiftieth anniversary.

I guess I like it in part ‘cause it points to the future. Faceless then, faceless now, faceless tomorrow.

Yeah, well, and I like that too. It makes it open-ended.
 

‘Metal, Meat & Bone,’ 2020 (courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation)

How long have they been working with Eric Drew Feldman?

You know, they’ve worked off and on with Eric. You know, Eric was Snakefinger’s band leader.

Right!

As an interesting aside, when Philip [“Snakefinger” Lithman] had his heart attack in Austria and died, they had just played at a club that night. And the club actually had a few rooms that they let bands stay in. And Eric was the one who found Philip’s body the next morning.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. But so the connection with Eric goes back that far. Now, he played with them… oh, I think it was the Demons Dance Alone tour that he played on. But had never been closely associated, more of a colleague, friend. But what happened, Hardy Fox was my partner in crime, whatever, managing, running, dealing with the Residents for well over forty years, and he died in 2018. Well, Hardy was really the architect of the Residents’ sound. And for them to continue, we needed somebody that could fill that role. And I wasn’t even aware of what an incredibly accomplished producer Eric is. And so ultimately people started talking to him. He was expressing interest, and the transition in my mind was almost seamless, much, much more so than than I had expected.

You know, it’s kind of—I know Eric pretty well. I can’t say I know him super well. And you know, the whole thing with a producer, a producer is kind of a chameleon, to some extent. You know, in other words, it’s their job to go in and get inside of an artist’s head and then fashion a sound-world around them that is, you know, complementary to that artist’s vision and aesthetics. And then the next time they go to a different artist and they do the same thing, and it may be similar, it may be really different. I mean, if they’re doing their job well, they should be coming up with a different set of values. And Eric did such a good job of recreating a lot of Hardy’s values, that my initial reaction was, “Wow, I had no idea that they overlapped so much.” And then later I thought about it and I went, “Well, how much do they overlap and how much is Eric being a really good chameleon?” And I still don’t know the answer. Personally, I think it’s a little bit of both.
 

‘Duck Stab! Alive!’ 2021 (courtesy of the Cryptic Corporation)

Anything on the horizon, any recording projects coming out or anything the Residents are working on this year that you can tell me about?

Well, they are working on a new project. And they’ve already recorded about ninety minutes worth of new music. And this is actually for a project—it will certainly be their next album. Now, what they would like to do—they were extremely happy with the God in Three Persons production. The only real problem with that is that it’s an expensive show. It takes 14 or 15 people to do it, and they haven’t been able to get it out as much as they wanted. I mean, they’re still—they haven’t gotten it to Europe. I think it’s a show that could virtually play forever in Europe. So ultimately, though, the new thing that they’re writing, in a way, the hope is that it would ultimately be more of a theatrical thing if it goes on to a stage production beyond the album. And they have recently made contact with a classical composer who is a huge Residents fan, and so the whole idea is to get the album done and then see what they can do with him in terms of making a stage production out of it. But that would be two, three, four years down the line. And hopefully [the album] will get finished sometime this year.

Well, that would be the first time they’ve done that kind of a collaboration, right? I’m trying to think if there’s been a collaboration like that with a composer.

He’s really a conductor. If I said composer, that was wrong. Although, I mean, I’m sure he does compose, but he’s primarily a classical conductor. And so he would probably bring players in to do parts, as the album starts coming together. And then he’s very connected in that world in terms of hoping to find interest in terms of turning it into a theater piece.

The Residents’ tour kicks off this Thursday, March 16, at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. Visit residents.com for tour dates and ticket links.
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Residential: Homer Flynn on the Residents’ ambitious ‘God in Three Persons’ show at MoMA
‘Wormwood’: The Bible according to the Residents
‘23rd Century Giants,’ the incredible true story of Renaldo & The Loaf!
New ‘visual history’ book celebrates 50 years of the Residents! Sneak peek and exclusive premiere!

The post ‘Faceless Eternally’: The Residents hit the highway for his or her fiftieth anniversary! appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Legendary art rock group The Residents have officially announced FACELESS FOREVER, their 50th San Francisco, California) tour April 17-19, 2023. In glorious celebration of their strange and unlikely 50th anniversary, The Residents will perform a selection from their legendary DUCK STAB! Album plus spotlight music from recent release METAL, MEAT & BONE along with an eclectic collection of fan favourites. Always unpredictable, The Residents bring their debut feature film, Triple Trouble, to live audiences nationwide at every venue on the FACELESS FOREVER tour. Triple Trouble is shown at 8:00 p.m., the concert time at 9:30 p.m.

Following its New York theatrical premiere on March 7, Triple Trouble will stream March 9-23, 2023 on MoMA (NYC)’s members-only Virtual Cinema platform (CLICK to join).

Detailed information on DUCK STAB!; METAL, FLESH & BONES; and Triple Trouble, see below:

DUCK ROD!

Released in 1978, DUCK STAB! was an EP of seven cleanly sung songs with understandable (if nonsensical) lyrics – a first for The Residents. The EP was a resounding success. After the first pressing quickly sold out, The Cryptic Corporation soon released a second pressing. Unfortunately the sound quality of the EP was poor because The Residents tried to squeeze sixteen minutes of music onto the disc. The band decided to re-release the songs in an album to improve the sound. They took a similar unreleased EP called Buster & Glen and made it onto side two of the new album. DUCK ROD! / Buster & Glen was released the following November and later renamed simply DUCK STAB. The album was a huge critical hit thanks to the music’s accessibility and sly, Lewis Carroll-inspired lyrics (not to mention Snakefinger’s amazing guitar work).

METAL, FLESH & BONES

The Residents released a new double CD recording, METAL, MEAT & BONE, based on newly discovered recordings by Alvin Snow (aka Dyin’ Dog). METAL, MEAT & BONE includes 10 Dyin’ Dog demos, 10 renditions of The Residents demos and six new Dyin’ Dog-inspired tracks. Black Francis of the Pixies is featured on the track “DIE! DIE! DIE!” to see. Rolling Stone released the music video for DIE! THE! DIE!“, which can be seen HERE.

For more information on Alvin Snow aka Dyin’ Dog, visit: youtube.com/watch?v=trE_SmrngbM&feature=youtu.be

Triple problem:

Written and directed by Homer Flynn and The Residents and produced by Starr Sutherland, Triple Trouble premiered at the 2022 Chicago Underground Film Festival and has since made guest appearances at the 45th Mill Valley Film Festival and other prestigious festivals. Triple Trouble is set in the near future after the death of Randy Rose, former lead singer of The Residents. His son Randy Junior discovers his father’s ashes have been stolen and put up for sale on eBay by a mysterious perpetrator. During his research, Junior discovers the footage for the group’s unfinished feature film, Vileness Fats, in a locker in his mother’s basement. Vileness Fats remained unfinished after initial filming in the 1970s – and was never released due to its format on half-inch “industrial” videotape. The Residents resurrect Vileness Fats with a rewritten script for Triple Trouble and feature an all-star cast of independent actors including Dustin York, Gerri Lawlor, Isabelle Ellingson and Isabelle Barbier.

Triple Trouble Synopsis:

Randall “Junior” Rose, a former priest who has lost faith in the church, has become a plumber, and instead of the easy life he had envisioned, Junior’s new job unveils an unexpected danger: an alien fungus that can destroy the whole city ​​congested. Convinced that the fungus poses a threat to humanity, Junior records a series of accounts detailing the origin of the strange white growth. Accompanied by his only companion, Cherry, an AI-powered drone, the plumber slowly gathers evidence to support his bizarre theory: an epidemic of white vans, a repeating pattern of black-and-white sidewalk drawings, a ubiquitous communications tower, and a massive increase in stops -Drains high.

He is further provoked by news of a “white flu” infiltrating the culture.

The death of his mother and a recent divorce have left Junior emotionally isolated, a victim of his own deep-rooted fears, but despite warnings from Cherry and Suzi, his ex-wife, his obsession continues to swell at an alarming rate. Encouraged by his father’s spirit, Junior spirals out of control while being plagued by a mysterious figure that threatens the edges of his lonely world. Panicked, the plumber retreats to his apartment and starts drinking.

Drunk and beside himself, Junior staggers through his apartment, neurotically longing for his dead mother’s company. Desperate for fresh air, he opens his patio door when an ominous figure bursts in. It’s Al Gump, the former guard at the crematorium where Junior’s father was cremated. Five years earlier, Gump and his brother Ollie had kidnapped his ex-wife Suzi; As a result, Junior’s mother shot and killed Ollie and the enraged Al demanded revenge. But as the brute’s fingers tighten around the hapless plumber’s neck, Gump suddenly gurgles, snorts and staggers across the room and falls to the floor with a massive thud as a foamy white substance oozes and oozes from his mouth.

Staring in amazement, Junior can only utter one word: “FUNGUS!”.

About the residents

The Residents (band, writer, artist; she/they) are an American artist collective best known for creating avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, Santa Dog (1972), the group has released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs. You have done ten major tours and made several films. As pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have received multiple awards for their multimedia projects. Ralph Records, a record label focused on avant-garde music, was founded by the band. Throughout the group’s existence, the individual members have reportedly attempted to operate under anonymity, preferring instead to draw attention to their artistic production. Much outside speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and in costume, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats, and tails—an enduring costume now recognized as its distinctive iconography. His albums generally fall into two categories: deconstructions of Western popular music and complex conceptual pieces composed around a theme, theory or plot. The group is known for surrealistic lyrics and sounds, disregard for conventional musical composition, and the over-the-top theatrical spectacle of their live performances. In addition to their pioneering work in trance, world fusion, electronica, punk, industrial and lounge music, the group is also considered one of the founders of performance art and music video. Two of her videos are in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and her Freak Show CD-ROM was recently featured in MoMA’s Looking at Music 3.0 exhibit. The Theory of Obscurity, a documentary about The Residents, premiered at SXSW in 2015.

In January 2020, while reviving their critically acclaimed 1988 album God in 3 Persons, The Residents collaborated with noted video artist John Sanborn to create a major multimedia performance at the Museum of Modern Art. Based on Alvin’s newly discovered footage Snow, also known as Dyin’ Dog, the group completed their 49th studio album, METAL, MEAT & BONE. In August 2021, The Residents performed select concerts featuring Snow’s music, reviving The Third Reich ‘n’ Roll and Duck Stab, two seminal Residents albums. In Winter/Spring 2023, The Residents will embark on their FACELESS FOREVER 50th Anniversary Tour of Europe and North America. residents. com

The Residents – FACELESS FOREVER – 50th Anniversary Tour 2023

Thu 3/16/23 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom

Free. 3/17/23 – Seattle, WA – Fremont Abbey Arts Center

Sat. 3/18/23 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theater

Mon. 3/20/23 – Salt Lake City, UT – City Lounge

Tue. 3/21/23 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater

Thu 3/23/23 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar

Fri. 3/24/23 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

Sat 3/25/23 – Detroit, MI – Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit Mon

3/27/23 — South Burlington — Higher Ground Tue.

3/28/23 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair

Thu 3/30/23 – New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge

Fri 3/31/23 – Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry at the Fillmore

Sat 4/1/23 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar

Sun. 4/2/23 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle

Mon. 4/3/23 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse

Marry. 04/05/23 – New Orleans, LA – The Broadside

Fri 4/7/23 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler

Sat 4/8/23 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater

Sun. 04/09/23 – Austin, TX – The community

Marry. 4/12/23 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole

Sat 4/15/23 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater

Mon. 4/17/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall

Tue. 04/18/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall

Marry. 04/19/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall

The post The Residents Announce FACELESS FOREVER fiftieth Anniversary Tour and Screenings of TRIPLE TROUBLE appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Legendary art rock group The Residents officially announce FACELESS FOREVER, their 50th Anniversary Tour commencing March 16 at Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR) and criss-crossing 22 cities before embarking on a three-day tour beginning in April at the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco , California) culminating on 17 – 19, 2023. The Residents are celebrating their strange and unlikely 50th anniversary in glory, performing selections from their legendary 1978 DUCK STAB! Album plus spotlight music from recent release METAL, MEAT & BONE along with an eclectic collection of fan favourites. Always unpredictable, The Residents bring their debut feature film, Triple Trouble, to live audiences nationwide at every FACELESS FOREVERtour venue. Triple Trouble is shown at 8:00 p.m., the concert time at 9:30 p.m.

Following its New York theatrical premiere on March 7, Triple Trouble will stream March 9-23, 2023 on MoMA (NYC)’s members-only Virtual Cinema platform (CLICK to join).

Detailed information on DUCK STAB!; METAL, FLESH & BONES; and Triple Trouble, see below:

DUCK BAR!
Released in 1978, DUCK STAB! was an EP of seven cleanly sung songs with understandable (if nonsensical) lyrics – a first for The Residents. The EP was a resounding success. After the first pressing quickly sold out, The Cryptic Corporation soon released a second pressing. Unfortunately the sound quality of the EP was poor because The Residents tried to squeeze sixteen minutes of music onto the disc. The band decided to re-release the songs in an album to improve the sound. They took a similar unreleased EP called Buster & Glen and made it onto side two of the new album. DUCK ROD! / Buster & Glen was released the following November and later renamed simply DUCK STAB. The album was a huge critical hit thanks to the music’s accessibility and sly, Lewis Carroll-inspired lyrics (not to mention Snakefinger’s amazing guitar work).

To get a little insight into the DUCK STAB! Live set, watch the exclusive performance by DUCK STAB! LIVELY! directed by acclaimed video artist John Sanborn: https://vimeo.com/557609428/b6c4031145 (FOR MEDIA USE ONLY, DO NOT POST). Rolling Stone reported on DUCK STAB! LIVELY! (SHORTCUT).

METAL, FLESH & BONES
The Residents released a new double CD recording, METAL, MEAT & BONE, based on newly discovered recordings by Alvin Snow (aka Dyin’ Dog). METAL, MEAT & BONE includes 10 Dyin’ Dog demos, 10 renditions of The Residents demos and six new Dyin’ Dog-inspired works. Black Francis of the Pixies is featured on the track “DIE! DIE! DIE!” to see. Rolling Stone released the music video for DIE! THE! DIE!“, which can be seen HERE.

For more information on Alvin Snow aka Dyin’ Dog, visit: youtube.com/watch?v=trE_SmrngbM&feature=youtu.be

Triple Trouble:
Written and directed by Homer Flynn and The Residents and produced by Starr Sutherland, Triple Trouble premiered at the 2022 Chicago Underground Film Festival and has since made guest appearances at the 45th Mill Valley Film Festival and other prestigious festivals. Triple Trouble is set in the near future after the death of Randy Rose, former lead singer of The Residents. His son Randy Junior discovers his father’s ashes have been stolen and put up for sale on eBay by a mysterious perpetrator. During his research, Junior discovers the footage for the group’s unfinished feature film, Vileness Fats, in a locker in his mother’s basement. Vileness Fats remained unfinished after initial filming in the 1970s – and was never released due to its format on half-inch “industrial” videotape. The Residents resurrect Vileness Fats with a rewritten script for Triple Trouble and feature an all-star cast of independent actors including Dustin York, Gerri Lawlor, Isabelle Ellingson and Isabelle Barbier.

Triple trouble synopsis:
Randall “Junior” Rose, a former priest who has lost faith in the church, has become a plumber, and instead of the easy life he had envisioned, Junior’s new job unveils an unexpected danger: an alien fungus that can destroy the whole city ​​congested. Convinced that the fungus poses a threat to humanity, Junior records a series of accounts detailing the origin of the strange white growth. Accompanied by his only companion, Cherry, an AI-powered drone, the plumber slowly gathers evidence to support his bizarre theory: an epidemic of white vans, a repeating pattern of black-and-white sidewalk drawings, a ubiquitous communications tower, and a massive increase in stops -Drains high. He is further provoked by news of a “white flu” infiltrating the culture.

The death of his mother and a recent divorce have left Junior emotionally isolated, a victim of his own deep-rooted fears, but despite warnings from Cherry and Suzi, his ex-wife, his obsession continues to swell at an alarming rate. Encouraged by his father’s spirit, Junior spirals out of control while being plagued by a mysterious figure that threatens the edges of his lonely world. Panicked, the plumber retreats to his apartment and starts drinking.

Drunk and beside himself, Junior staggers through his apartment, neurotically longing for his dead mother’s company. Desperate for fresh air, he opens his patio door when an ominous figure bursts in. It’s Al Gump, the former guard at the crematorium where Junior’s father was cremated. Five years earlier, Gump and his brother Ollie had kidnapped his ex-wife Suzi; As a result, Junior’s mother shot and killed Ollie and the enraged Al demanded revenge. But as the brute’s fingers tighten around the hapless plumber’s neck, Gump suddenly gurgles, snorts and staggers across the room and falls to the floor with a massive thud as a foamy white substance oozes and oozes from his mouth.

Staring in amazement, Junior can only utter one word: “FUNGUS!”.

About the residents
The Residents (band, writer, artist; she/they) are an American artist collective best known for creating avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, Santa Dog (1972), the group has released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs. You have done ten major tours and made several films. As pioneers in exploring the potential of CD-ROM and similar technologies, the Residents have received multiple awards for their multimedia projects. Ralph Records, a record label focused on avant-garde music, was founded by the band. Throughout the group’s existence, the individual members have reportedly attempted to operate under anonymity, preferring instead to draw attention to their artistic production. Much outside speculation and rumor has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and in costume, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats, and tails—an enduring costume now recognized as its distinctive iconography. His albums generally fall into two categories: deconstructions of Western popular music and complex conceptual pieces composed around a theme, theory or plot. The group is known for surrealistic lyrics and sounds, disregard for conventional musical composition, and the over-the-top theatrical spectacle of their live performances. In addition to their pioneering work in trance, world fusion, electronica, punk, industrial and lounge music, the group is also considered one of the founders of performance art and music video. Two of her videos are in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and her Freak Show CD-ROM was recently featured in MoMA’s Looking at Music 3.0 exhibit. The Theory of Obscurity, a documentary about The Residents, premiered at SXSW in 2015.

In January 2020, while reviving their critically acclaimed 1988 album God in 3 Persons, The Residents collaborated with noted video artist John Sanborn to create a major multimedia performance at the Museum of Modern Art. Based on Alvin’s newly discovered footage Snow, also known as Dyin’ Dog, the group completed their 49th studio album, METAL, MEAT & BONE. In August 2021, The Residents performed select concerts featuring Snow’s music, reviving The Third Reich ‘n’ Roll and Duck Stab, two seminal Residents albums. In Winter/Spring 2023, The Residents will embark on their FACELESS FOREVER 50th Anniversary Tour of Europe and North America. residents. com

The Residents – FACELESS FOREVER – 50th Anniversary Tour 2023

Thu 3/16/23 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Free. 3/17/23 – Seattle, WA – Fremont Abbey Arts Center
Sat. 3/18/23 – Vancouver, BC – Hollywood Theater
Mon. 3/20/23 – Salt Lake City, UT – City Lounge
Tue. 3/21/23 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Thu 3/23/23 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cedar
Fri. 3/24/23 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Sat 3/25/23 – Detroit, MI – Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Mon 3/27/23 – South Burlington – Higher ground
Tue 3/28/23 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
Thu 3/30/23 – New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge
Fri 3/31/23 – Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry at the Fillmore
Sat 4/1/23 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Sun. 4/2/23 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Mon. 4/3/23 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
Marry. 04/05/23 – New Orleans, LA – The Broadside
Fri 4/7/23 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler
Sat 4/8/23 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater
Sun. 04/09/23 – Austin, TX – The community
Marry. 4/12/23 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole
Sat 4/15/23 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theater
Mon. 04/17/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall
Tue. 04/18/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall
Marry. 04/19/23 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall

The post FACELESS FOREVER The Residents’ fiftieth Anniversary Tour appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

by Jocelyn Moran

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — Monday marks 116 years since the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, ranked as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time by the US Geological Survey. Now it serves as a reminder of the need to be prepared.

READ MORE: Arson Suspect Arrested In Massive San Jose Home Depot Fire

“We live in earthquake country, there have been big earthquakes in the past, there will be big earthquakes in our future,” said Keith Knudsen, the deputy director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center.

Knudsen said during earthquake anniversaries, he revisits his earthquake plan.

“Are you going to have a way to contact the rest of your family? Do you have an assembly point?” he said.

Faith Meacham moved to San Francisco from out of state about a year ago.

“I definitely thought about it when I was looking for apartments. I was like, `Do I want an older build? Newer build? Which one is safer?’ But since moving, I haven’t really thought about it too much,” she said.

READ MORE: Joaquin Ciria, Wrongfully Convicted In San Francisco Murder, Exonerated After 32 Years Behind Bars

Knudsen said that’s not a bad idea.

“That’s actually one of my favorite recommendations. I encourage people to investigate the buildings in which they and their families spend time in,” said Knudsen. “If your kids go to school, has the school been evaluated? Are they safe, is your home safe? Is your apartment building safe?”

Other things to think about include having an earthquake kit ready to go.

The California Residential Mitigation Program offers recommendations that include:
• 3-day supply of water for each member of your family
• 3-day supply of nonperishable food
• First aid kids for your home and cars
• 3-day supply of food and water for your pets
• Flashlights in every room with extra batteries
• Power packs for phones
• Prescription medication
• Whistle
• Swiss Army knives
• Copies of personal documents
• Extra pair of eyeglasses
• Small cash bills

Knudsen said something he thinks about when thinking about the 1906 earthquake was the damage from the fires triggered by the earthquake.

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“If we have big earthquakes anywhere in the Bay Area, anywhere in California, there will be fires so it pays to learn things like how do you shut the gas off to your house?,” Knudsen said. “Is your water heater strapped? Are there flexible lines to your gas appliances? Anything you can do to make where you spend time more resistant to fire hazards.”

The post 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Anniversary Serves As Reminder To Be Ready For Subsequent Massive One – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — When the vast majority of San Francisco Bay Area workers were driven from their offices by the COVID outbreak two years ago, few knew Zoom was a messaging platform, work from home was an option for just a select number of tech workers and the phrase ‘You Only Live Once’ was more likely to be a catchy name for a game show.

Life has certainly changed since March 12, 2020. But with new cases tumbling and the delta and omicron surges at bay, there has been somewhat a return to normal.

READ MORE: San Francisco Official Wrap Up Crackdown On Illegal COVID Testing Sites

The once-ever-present masks can be ditched and will slowly be disappearing from classrooms. Weekly test requirements have been eased, air travel has rebounded and BART trains and Muni and VTA buses are crowded again during the commute hour.

In her State of the City address Wednesday, Mayor London Breed was ready to celebrate the new freedoms.

“We announce we are ending vaccine mandates for businesses,” Breed said. “You guys all seem very enthusiastic about that. (Laughter) I for one am. I look forward to going to a club to have a good time without my mask. It’s time…It’s time to open up our eyes, it’s time to open up our city. It’s time to enjoy our lives after everything we’ve experienced, to see not just the challenges we face but the opportunities before us. To feel the pride in what our city has done and can do.”

It was March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization issued its declaration of a pandemic, driving home the severity of the threat faced by a virus that at that point had wreaked havoc primarily in Italy and China.

The US had 38 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 1,300 cases nationwide on that date, but reality was starting to sink in: stocks tanked, classrooms started closing and people began donning masks. In a matter of hours, the NBA was canceling games, Chicago’s huge St. Patrick’s Day parade was scuttled, and late-night comedians began filming from empty studios — or even their homes.

Since then, more than six million people have died globally, nearly 1 million in the US and nearly 58,000 in the Bay Area. The emergence of the vaccine in December 2021 saved countless lives but political divisions, hesitancy and inequality in health systems have kept millions of people around the world from getting inoculated, prolonging the pandemic.

“The vaccine was really amazing,” said UCSF infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Chin Hong. “It’s a testament to where we’ve been in science.”

READ MORE: “It’s Impacting Our Health;” Sleep Scientists Back Abolishing Daylight Saving Time

But he’s been surprised about how politics have played a role in the COVID battle.

“The way that a single mask would have become a political symbol when in health care it is such a normal way to protect yourself,” Chin-Hong said.

“But with these successes, I think there have been many down points,” he added.

Julie Kim, chief nursing officer at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, gets emotional when she recalls the bleakest days of the pandemic when doctors and nurses worked around the clock and didn’t go home because they were afraid of bringing the virus back with them.

At one point during the summer 2020 spike, there were 250 COVID-19 patients in the hospital licensed for 320 beds and the hospital had to use offices for overflow bed space.

The pandemic has eased to the point that as of Tuesday, there were just four COVID-19 patients at the hospital, Kim said, and medical staff feels more prepared to treat the disease with the knowledge gained in those darkest days. Still, many are traumatized by the raw memories of the past two years and will never be the same, she said.

“It’s hard to use the word ‘normal,’ because I don’t think we will ever get back to a pre-COVID state. We are adapting and we are moving forward,” Kim said. “This has had a toll on many of us. Some people are moving forward and some people are still having a hard time dealing with it all.”

MORE NEWS: NTSB Investigators Unraveling Cause Of Fiery Caltrain Collision That Injured 13

© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The post ‘YOLO’, ‘WFH’, Zoom — Bay Space Marks 2-12 months Anniversary Of COVID Pressured Exodus From Workplaces – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Antioch Shelter-in-Place lifted; Man found dead, possibly killed by improvised explosive deviceAllen Martin reports on Antioch Police investigating a bizarre death near a high school that may have been self-inflicted with a homemade explosive (1/31/2022).

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School closure plans in Oakland spark community protestsThe Oakland school community was shocked to learn that 19 OUSD public schools could be closed or merged over the next two years. John Ramos reports. (1-30-22)

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Hundreds march in SF to mark death of Thai grandfather Vicha RatanapakdeeHundreds marched in San Francisco on Sunday to commemorate Vicha Ratanapakdee, who was fatally attacked while walking in San Francisco a year ago. Shawn Chitnis reports. (1-30-22)

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First alarm weather forecast for Sunday nightMeteorologist Darren Peck predicted the working week. (1-30-22)

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KPIX Web Extra: Zaza Pachulia the WarriorWarriors Basketball Operations Advisor Zaza Pachulia talks to Betty Yu about the move from player to front office, the strengths of the team, Steph Curry and more. (1-30-22)

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First alarm weather forecast on Sunday morningNo rain on the horizon but another bout of windy weather is expected earlier this week. Darren Peck has the prognosis (1/30/2022)

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San Francisco Bay Ferry Service brings Warriors fans to the Chase CenterBetty Yu reports on the growing popularity of the San Francisco Bay Ferry Service to get to Warriors games (1-30-20220

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Oakland French bulldog owner requests return of 2 stolen dogsDa Lin Recounts Recent French Bulldog Theft From Oakland Pet Owner (1/30/2022)

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PIX nowKPIX 5 Morning News Headlines on Sunday 30th January 2022.

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