Domestic Squabble on the F-Market

Late Night F-Market (NSFW) 

In an interview with Ian Port in December 2010 ("John Waters Explains His Love for S.F. Muni, the Roxie Theater, and Die Antwoord"), John Waters said this about Muni (and the F-Market streetcar in particular): 

"My favorite is to come home from Zuni's after two drinks at 11 o'clock at night and get on that beautiful streetcar -- well there's two -- the J is my favorite, it's like being in Amarcord to get on it. Then you turn around, and it's full, and every person is out of their mind -- but in a nice way. It's not scary. The drivers are insane. Everyone is insane and happy, or even if they're not happy, they seem -- it's like, ship of fools. It's really a great feeling to be on a streetcar filled with desire....
 
"The J is the one that I think is the most beautiful, that goes up in the hills, that winds its way around like an inch from people's houses. But what's the old streetcar that runs along market, is that the F?...

"I love that one, too. That's the one coming home from Zuni's. It's the ship of fools, my favorite."

In May 2010, I worked late one night at my office, which was on the edge of Fishermans Wharf.  When I got on the F-Market, the conversation in front of me started to escalate pretty quickly into a full-on screaming match, with expletives and name calling.  And I happened to have a Sony Bloggie in my pocket.

Notice how she can turn on a dime: "I DON"T HAVE YOUR PHONE!  If I did, I would give it back to you.  BUT YOU LOST IT!"

The thing that you don't see here is what happened right after (because that would have required me to follow them, and I thought that would look a bit stalker-ish).  Herman moved up to the front of the car and sat behind the driver.  She did not hesitate to follow him up front and sit directly beside him -- not across the aisle, but right beside him.  And their demeanor changed entirely.  No more yelling.  Quiet conversation.  No animosity apparent.

It's all just part of the magic of city living....

1955 San Francisco Travelogue

San Francisco 1955 Cinemascope Film

I find a few things interesting in this.

One, It hits most of the spots that one might still today go when sightseeing in San Francisco.

Two, a lot of it does not look any different today (or not a whole lot different).

Three, at the same time, a lot of it has been either replaced or just plain torn down.

Four, I did not know that Powell Street used to connect to Market Street and that cars could drive down that last block.

Tom Perkins's "The Maltese Falcon"

[Note: Only the first three minutes of the second video are pertinent to this post.]

Mystery solved. The mystery ship is "The Maltese Falcon," built by venture capitalist multi-billionaire Tom Perkins. It is the world's largest sailing yacht. It is 289 feet long and 42 feet wide, the masts are twenty stories (191 feet) tall, and it cost $130 million.

And it's attracting a lot of attention from tourists at Fisherman's Wharf today.

Just for perspective, the last photo below shows someone standing on the deck.

Docked at Pier 35

As I was arriving at work this morning, I noticed this ship docked at Pier 35.

I have no idea what its name is or where it comes from or why it's here or how long it will be here. It appears to be flying a Red Ensign at its stern, but I can't see enough of it to tell which one (click all pictures to see a larger version):

It could be from New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, the Hudson Bay Company or any of several places that use the Red Ensign. Because it's not windy out, the flag hangs in such a way that you cannot tell what emblem is on the flag that would identify its origin. If I find out any more information, I'll pass it along.

[UPDATE 10/16: I went down during lunch and got enough information from spectators to do Google searches and find out that it is "The Maltese Falcon," owned by venture capitalist Tom Perkins. See my later post for further details.]