Tag: San Francisco

Chocolate. Now. Full Stop.

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craving, sweet, candy bar

Todd Masonis, the co-founder of  Dandelion Chocolate, a beautiful little chocolate factory/shop on Valencia Street shares some tips on tasting chocolate in a post titled the Art of Tasting Chocolate Mindfully.  Here’s a few excerpts of his tips (along with my editorial comments of course):

1) “The first step is to slow down. Before you rip apart the packaging and dig in, take a moment to read about the bar…Chocolate makers think through countless decisions and this is our opportunity to share our perspective. Even the physicality of our packaging should draw you into the chocolate experience. In our case, the handmade cotton paper should feel soft. Like our bars, the slightly imperfect screenprinting should reinforce the touch-of-the-hand craftsmanship that goes into each of our bars….”  (DK: Really.  Slow down, huh?  Hmmmm. Let’s try step two.) Continue reading “Chocolate. Now. Full Stop.” →

Sunday Morning: Adrift

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Adrift from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Simon Christen, the producer: This video is a love letter to the fog of the San Francisco Bay Area. I chased it for over two years to capture the magical interaction between the soft mist, the ridges of the California coast and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. This is where “Adrift” was born.  The weather conditions have to be just right for the fog to glide over the hills and under the bridge. I developed a system for trying to guess when to make the drive out to shoot, which involved checking the weather forecast, satellite images and webcams multiple times a day. For about 2 years, if the weather looked promising, I would set my alarm to 5am, recheck the webcams, and then set off on the 45-minute drive to the Marin Headlands.  I spent many mornings hiking in the dark to only find that the fog was too high, too low, or already gone by the time I got there. Luckily, once in a while the conditions would be perfect and I was able to capture something really special. Adrift is a collection of my favorite shots from these excursions into the ridges of the Marin Headlands.  I hope with my short film I am able to convey the feeling of happiness I felt while I experienced those stunning scenes.

Friday Night: Zoë Keating

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Zoë Keating, 41, is a Canadian-born cellist and composer based in San Francisco, California. She is a one-woman orchestra. She uses a cello and a foot-controlled laptop to record layer upon layer of cello, creating intricate, haunting and compelling music.  Keating was classically trained from the age of eight.  She obtained a liberal arts degree and then spent her 20’s working in software while moonlighting as a cellist in rock bands. She eventually combined the cello and the computer, developing her signature style of live-layered music while improvising for late night crowds at her Francisco warehouse. She speaks regularly on artist-empowerment, sustainable careers and the concept of artist-as-entrepreneur, has been profiled on NPR’s All Things Considered, named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.   For the last two years, Zoë has been slowly touring North America, young child in tow, to support her latest album,Into the Trees, which spent 49 weeks on the Billboard classical charts, peaking at #7…She is also extremely fond of pancakes and likes to say yes to crazy things… (Source: zoekeating.com)

Saturday Night with Harry

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We saw Harry Chapin perform this song, Taxi, in one of his last live performances.   This timeless ballad continues to feed my post-Zen-glow of San Francisco…

It was raining hard in ‘Frisco,
I needed one more fare to make my night…

Welcome Home

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City Skyline, San Francisco
Here it comes again.
The heaviness in the chest.
And, in the shoulders.
It lifts.
It drips away.
Why does it show in flight? In the heavens.
Happiness?
No. Bigger.