Zip Line at Justin Herman Plaza Part 2

Urban Zip Line Part 2

Yesterday afternoon, I went back down to Justin Herman Plaza to take more shots of people riding the zip line.  This time, I did three things differently in order to get better footage:  (1) I took the better camera; and (2) I went early in the afternoon so that Justin Herman Plaza wouldn't be as completely cloaked in shadows from the surrounding buildings; and (3) I took Chip with me so we could both take shots.

So I think this video is much better than the first one I posted.

Not quite living up to its name

Not-So-Zippy Zipline

It's hard to watch people riding the zipline for very long without wondering whether this kind of thing happens.  Or how often it happens.

It certainly looks like the Ziptrek people are well prepared and know how to handle this kind of thing quickly and efficiently, though.  The whole incident did not take fully five minutes, beginning to end.

Still, you have to wonder how disappointing it must be for this to happen to someone who stood in line for who-knows-how-long.  It's really got to be a big let-down.  I hope that the Ziptrek people took this person back through to the head of the line and let them go again.

On the plus side, though, this happened right in front of my camera as neatly as if I had planned it this way.

Zip line at Justin Herman Plaza

Zip Line at Justin Herman Plaza

I once mentioned to a friend that I carried two small cameras (a Nikon still camera and a Sony HD video camera) in my coat pockets at all times so that I would never have to say, "Damn, I wish I had a camera right now."

He asked if I ever actually used them.

I told him that it didn't happen often, but, yes, I did stumble upon things to take pictures of:  The LoveFest/LoveParade, the Maltese Falcon docked at Pier 35,  the police clampdown on Halloween in the Castro a couple of years ago.  And to me, those rare occasions justify carrying the cameras.

So when I heard Friday about the zip line stretched across Justin Herman Plaza from now until April 18, all I had to do to get shots of it was to stop by on my way home from work.

Here Lies Love

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim released a two-CD set yesterday called "Here Lies Love," a disco song cycle about Imelda Marcos and Estrella Cumpas.  Every track is performed by a different artist (almost all female), ranging from Tori Amos to Cyndi Lauper to Santigold to Nellie McKay to Martha Wainwright and beyond.

Reviews are mixed.  The BBC says that it's "easier to admire than it is to enjoy" (though it is still 6Music's "Album Of the Day").  On the other hand, Huffington Post says "It works so well and so strangely--especially with guests like Steve Earle in the role of Ferdinand Marcos--that you'll wonder why it's never been done before."

Personally, I've only listened to it once so far, so I don't feel comfortable making sweeping "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" statements yet.  I thought that Florence Welch (of Florence And the Machine) was a good choice for the title song, and I was surprised at how well Cyndi Lauper's voice blends with Tori Amos's voices (the last track is a duet between them).

So here's a way to preview samples of all the songs for yourself right here:

Kerning Fail

Here's a screen grab from the SHN-SF (Shorenstein Hays Nederlander San Francisco) website (click on the picture to enlarge).

"Arts Exchange" is a service where SHN subscribers can sell their tickets that they can't use.

But I have no idea what "ART SEXCHANGE" is.