winter wonderland

Every Christmas Mt. View Cemetery has a light display that draws visitors from all over.  This is one
small corner of the bounty of lights that turns the entry into a magical wonderland.

Don't forget, tomorrow is CDP's Theme Day with January's theme Best Photo of 2013.  Click here to see what CDP bloggers post.

Monday Mural: aim for the stars

Here is another mural along 15th Street done by the Love Oakland group.  The little guy looks scared as he aims for the stars.  But his mentor and guiding spirit exude confidence.  A bonus is the ghost sign left on the wall.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

in case you're looking for a dentist

Saw this last week and it make me laugh.  Reminds me of all those westerns that show a dentist advertising with a tooth hanging outside his office.  As you can see, we still are in a dry and clear period.  It's definitely looking like a year of drought.  Linked to Signs, Signs and Skywatch Friday.

Monday Mural: love Oakland

Several murals reside on one block of 15th Street downtown.  They are sponsored by Love Oakland Group which is self-decribed as "a collective of activists, artists, gardeners, and other free spirits that want to make Oakland the most beautiful city in the world."  Several of the murals say "love Oakland" in multiple languages

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

There

The City Center sculpture by Roslyn Mazzilli, seen in the background of yesterday's post, is titled "There."  Oaklanders keep trying to correct the misapprehension that Gertrude Stein was talking about Oakland when she said, "There's no There there."  Actually, she made this famous comment after looking at the empty lot that once held her family home (here in Oakland).  Still, it's a dynamic and colorful piece.  Linked to Skywatch Friday.  More cold air and blue skies predicted.

dancing in the plaza

These students are dancing to a West African band that is performing.

W is for water works

City Center is a business and government complex in downtown Oakland.  The fountain was up and running this week while concerts were held in the plaza.  Yowza.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Monday Mural: create for yourself a new heart

This huge mural is located downtown and was created in 1985.  The title is taken from Ezekial 18:31 which has to do with repentance.  A small section of this mural was posted two years ago which features Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.  The greater theme of the mural relates to Jewish traditions.  The lower parts of the mural have been painted over and the remainder is in poor condition.  Nonetheless, do yourself a favor and zoom in to see the fascinating details.  Go here for a discussion of the mural.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

downtown Oakland

While walking downtown the other day, I spied these reflections.  The one on the left is City Hall.  The one on the right, I'm not so sure.  Linked to Weekend Reflections.

Tim-berrrr!

Last week we experienced intense winds that really shook the rafters.  One of the victims was this 135 year old eucalyptus tree along the shore of Lake Merritt.  Had the tree fallen in any other direction it would have crashed through the roof of the Lake Chalet restaurant, or hit the street and likely, electrical wires and parked cars.  It has become quite the celebrity and has drawn lots of camera-toting visitors.

The winds have died down but the frigid, sunny weather has continued.  A warming trend is predicted for the weekend.   Linked to Skywatch Friday.             

Monday Mural: mamma mia!!

Amanda Lynn has several murals in Oakland, often done in collaboration with her friend Mags.   This one is found around the corner from this one only a couple of blocks from Lake Merritt.  Clearly, voluptuous women are a specialty.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

ABC Wednesday: U is for unusual

 

 This Victorian house is now a duplex. It's recently had a new paint job with at least six colors.  Pretty unusual, if not elegant especially for the neighborhood.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Monday Mural: hidden faces

This large scale mural looks like a group effort but I didn't see any signatures.  I feel I should know the artists by the distinctive styles, but sadly I don't.  This is one of those images that invites free association to uncover meaning.  Maybe something about the need of street artists to stay anonymous?  You tell me.  The writing down the side of the wall says Rock Paper Scissors, the art collective whose back wall is the canvas.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Theme Day: looking out

Today is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo world.  This month's theme is "looking out."  Being the literal sort, I'm posting this photo taken at this year's dragon boat races.  Seems like everyone, with one exception, is looking out at the boats racing on Lake Merritt.  For more takes on the theme visit the Theme Day meme here.

street shrine

While driving around East Oakland I found this street shrine placed in a median strip designed to divert traffic.  Whoever created it included icons from India and China as well as incense and continuous music.  It was like a small oasis in the middle of the street.

Monday Mural: the cycle continues

I really like Cannon Dill's work.  While driving downtown the other day I found another one on a garage door on MLK Way.  His work is full of pathos with glimmers of humor and hope.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

rotisserie dinner

At Sunday's farmer's market in Montclair Village, the booth with the longest line was this guy's serving up roasted chicken.  He couldn't move fast enough to keep up with the demand.  Definitely a time saving way to get dinner on the table.

Monday Mural: dragonfly over the door

While driving up the street, a flash of color sparkled in my peripheral vision.  I turned the car around and found another mural by the Community Rejuvenation Project.  This one adorns a local breakfast joint called the Grease Box which touts that it serves "cowboy coffee."  While I like the idea of cowboy coffee I'm not so sure about eating in a place called the Grease Box.  Even though it serves gluten free and vegan dishes.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Monday Mural: portrait of a waif

I know I've seen those eyes somewhere before, but I can't remember where.  Done by Gloria Muriel, a San Diego based artist, who signs her pieces "glow."  The bird and the dense lines in the girl's hair remind me of Doty.  Maybe he's influenced her Oakland pieces.  Found near Lake Merritt at the start of East Oakland.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Spokeland

As the sign implies, bicycling is very popular in Oakland.  Dedicated lanes for bicycles on our city streets are definitely on the increase.

Monday Mural: homage to Carmen Miranda

Here's another one by Mags and Alynn found around the corner from the mural posted last week.  If the ones I found are any indication, they like to paint glamour girls.  I think of it as a celebration of female beauty.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Monday Mural: girls with spray cans

This is a joint project between Alynn and Mags.  I like the glamor girl especially the flowing and rippled drape of the fabric.  But the beetle kind of creeps me out.  Then again, what is street art without some darkness.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.
  
As Jack would say, I'll be "out of jurisdiction" for three weeks.  Through the magic of automated posting the Linky will still go up on Sundays at 8 PM PST.  Unfortunately, I won't have much access to wifi so will not be able to leave comments.

Monday Mural: hummingbird

This wonderful psychedelic hummingbird is part of a much larger mural on two sides of an old building in West Oakland.  I like the kinetic feeling it presents.  I wonder if the double eyes mean Doty did this one?

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.
  
As Jack would say, I'll be "out of jurisdiction" for three weeks.  Through the magic of automated posting the Linky will still go up on Sundays at 8 PM PST.  Unfortunately, I won't have much access to wifi so will not be able to leave comments. 

Monday Mural: apartment decoration

This mural decorates an apartment complex in the Fruitvale district.  I'm guessing the ivy is covering a signature.  It's been there a while and because it faces southwest it has faded quite a bit.  Still, it presents a warm tale of family and community.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.
  
As Jack would say, I'll be "out of jurisdiction" for three weeks.  Through the magic of automated posting the Linky will still go up on Sundays at 8 PM PST.  Unfortunately, I won't have much access to wifi so will not be able to leave comments. 

vintage train

This vintage train car was part of a traveling art installation/happening traveling from New York to Oakland.  I tried to take pictures of the other cars but got shooed away.  Because I left my hard hat and steel toed shoes at home, I wasn't allowed into the area.  Pity.  I was hoping to see an interior.  As for the art happening itself, it was sold out.  Snake eyes.

train to nowhere

I had no idea that there was an Amtrak repair barn in Oakland.  This isn't too far from Jack London Square.  It was amusing to see an engine driving into a building.  There was a little cognitive dissonance going on until I figured out what I was seeing.

Indian summer

We're enjoying an Indian summer with sunny skies and very little fog.  While walking Jack London Square it seemed like everyone and his cousin was there.  Then I found the food fair.  No wonder so many people were out and about.  Duh.

Monday Mural: Oakland is...

Tooling around West Oakland recently, I found this mural done by the TDK crew this year.  It commemorates the 1989 earthquake which involved the flattening of a double deck freeway that ran through this part of Oakland.  Many people who lived in this poor neighborhood rushed to the collapsed freeway, and climbed the unstable structure to rescue people trapped in their cars.  Their heroism remains a strong memory to this day.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

the new eastern span

It's taken 24 years for the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge to finally open.  This shot is looking east to the Oakland hills.  The eastern side is no longer a double deck bridge and both directions of traffic now have breakdown lanes that will hopefully reduce traffic jams due to fender benders and empty gas tanks.  There is a temporary pedestrian/bicycle lane on the south side of the bridge that is already very popular.  Right now you can take it close to Yerba Buena Island but then you have to turn around and go back to the East Bay.  After the old span is demolished, a permanent lane will go all the way to Yerba Buena and Treasure Island.  Linked to Skywatch Friday.

L is for Love Locks at the Lake

The new pedestrian bridge at Lake Merritt was barely open before folks started attaching Love Locks.  Finally Oakland has something in common with Paris!  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Theme Day: details

Spotted this unusual kickstand on a Harley-Davidson in West Oakland.  Weird and cool at the same time, don't you think?  Linking to City Daily Photo's monthly Theme Day.  Check it out for worldwide takes on the theme of "details."

Monday Mural: cool jazz on a warm day

An auto repair shop on Park Blvd. offered three of its walls for new murals by the Community Rejuvenation Project.  I showed you one side a couple of months ago.  Here is part of the west facing wall.  The horn player reminds me of Miles Davis.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

day out at the lake

When you walk around Lake Merritt, not all the treats are visual.

Monday Mural: more depressed birds

This is the last image I'm posting from the huge Fruitvale mural I've been showing you.  Doty's birds interweave with Cannon Dill's organic swirls and Polka's color embellishments.  The entire mural is quite something to see.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Cello Joe

Meet Cello Joe.  He plays his electric cello at events around town.  How does he electrify his cello?  By having a volunteer ride a bicycle attached to a battery, of course.  Bicycles powering a blender and now a cello.  What a town!  Don't know why he wears pyjamas to perform.  Comfort, maybe?

Monday Mural: toucan tango

Here's another section of the large new mural on East 12th Street at Fruitvale Avenue.   I'm pretty sure this part is by Doty who also did the blackbirds.  I really like his images.   Told you this mural is gigantic.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

My bad--I was in a hurry and forgot the Linky.  Oh, memory, where for art thou?

late sun in the cemetery

Monuments galore dot Mt. View Cemetery.  This one glowed in the late afternoon sun.

playtime

Watching kids play is a trip.  It's such a pleasure watching unfettered joy.

Monday Mural: more Fruitvale mural

A fellow blogger tells me this part of the mural is by Cannon Dill.  Don't ask me to explain it.  I do know that all those winding line are intensely intricate and intriguing.  The tear really gets me and makes me feel that part of the commentary is about suffering.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.  
Sorry for the delay; my computer went on the fritz.

another warm day at the lake

We're having a mini heat wave so it's best to run the lake in the early morning.  By noon we're fanning ourselves and kvetching about the heat.  Since most houses in the Bay Area don't have a/c, sleeping can be hard when the fog doesn't come in at night.  But as soon as the weather turns foggy and damp, we'll complain about that too.  Here in the Bay Area we can be delicate creatures.

creme brûlée

Food trucks are wildly popular in Oakland as well as the rest of the Bay Area.  This truck was spotted at the Oakland Museum's weekly Friday night party.

how do we help the homeless?

Like every city, Oakland has its share of homeless people.  It's hard to know what to do to address this problem especially since mental illness, addiction, PTSD, and the current economy are all factors in this sad situation.  Some we know by name, others have a story hidden from us.  What does your community do to about homelessness?  Linked to ABC Wednesday. 

Monday Mural: blackbirds singing in the dead of night

Here's more of the Doty-Polka mural I showed you last week.  It's painted on both the corrugated wall of the warehouse and the front of the loading dock.  Hence the contrast in texture and the slightly 3-D effect.  Doty is the muralist I've showed you who paints people with more than two eyes.  Now he's branching out to other species.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

Update:  A fellow Oaklander sent an email with more information on the group that did this mural.  She say the artists represented in the whole piece are Ernest Doty, Cannon Dill, Koleo Koleoptere and David Polka.   I didn't know that, so thanks a lot for the extra info, Janet.

pink coral

The Oakland Museum's recently renovated natural history gallery highlights the ecology of several specific locations in California.  This is a still shot of a video about the coral reefs of the Cordell Bank which is a marine sanctuary off the coast just north of San Francisco.  The colors astonished me given that the waters off Northern California are very cold.  Who knew there was a kaleidoscope of color under the surface of the water?  This is my contribution to this month's City Daily Photo Theme Day:  pink.  Please follow the link to see Theme Day contributions from around the world.

cranes at sunset

Another shot of our iconic shipping cranes.  Sometimes we get a clear sunset with no fog creeping over the hills from the coast line.

Fresh Fades

Barbershop spotted on 14th Avenue in East Oakland.

the new, new Parkway Theater

The New Parkway, a theater for second run movies, has recently opened in the Uptown area.  Folks are happy to have them back since they had to close their original space in 2009.  They continue to have family night where babies are welcome.  Apparently you can also decided how much to pay for your ticket.  That should be an interesting experiment.

Monday Mural: night fox

Three weeks ago I showed you part of a large mural that was going up on a warehouse/work space on E.12th Street and Fruitvale Avenue.  The project now seems completed and is a vast collaboration between Doty and Polka that covers (I'm guessing) 200 running feet of corrugated wall.  This beautiful patchwork fox takes center stage on the tallest wall of the complex.  In the coming week's I'll share other parts of the wall and revisit the finished fox originally shown.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You get to decide what constitutes a mural.  Once you start looking, you find them everywhere.  Be sure to link back to this blog and to visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the mural finds posted this week.

fun and funky vintage car

Someone is working on a vintage car.  I have no idea of the make.  But I bet Louis La Vache will tell us.  The car seems fantastic, fun, and now a little funky.  Hope they have all the parts.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.