Turf Dancing in East Oakland

2010 Photo Winners of the EBRPD

These are a few of my favorite photos from the East Bay Regional Park District's annual photo contest:
(1) view of Mt. Diablo from Mission Peak
(2) Berkeley Marina
(3) between storms, Berkeley Hills, Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve

Lots of great pics, but my three favorites (shown above) are all by photographer Fred Rowe. See links to all 50 finalists here.

Oakland Needs to Come Together

At about 10:30 PM last night, forty or fifty high-school age kids descended upon the Whole Foods store across the street from my apartment. Most of the kids stood by and watched as three or four used a trash can, a store sign, and rocks to smash the windows of the store front. Three security guards quickly came out of a side entrance with guns raised at the crowd. They yelled loudly and repeatedly to back up. The group moved away but did not leave the scene. One or two resumed breaking windows on the other side of the store. It was a tense five to ten minutes before a police van arrived, causing the crowd to immediately disperse.

The scene reminded me of my mischievous days in high school, when the freshman soccer team went out and toilet papered a neighbor's house before a big game. I thought the same sort of thing happened last night, with the kids using the verdict of the Mehserle trial as a similar excuse to stir up trouble. We both picked out a clear target, leaving the other stores, residences, and cars relatively unscathed. But when someone with authority showed up, we scattered. Who knows what we would have done if the neighbors hadn't woken up and unleashed their dog on the soccer team, or if the police hadn't shown up at Whole Foods last night?

It is sad to witness the destruction of property, but it's even more sad to see people bury their heads in the sand. When the news media announced that the verdict was to be read yesterday at 4 PM, the responsible workers of our city left Oakland in droves. Since then, much of the city has been shut down, due to a collective fear being spread from the top down. But, the best thing for this community is to come together and to face our troubles collectively. How can we run away from the kids that we are supposed to care for and teach?

Blast from the Past

My former roommate from college visited me in Oakland this past week. We visited a few neighborhoods in Oakland and Berkeley, ate at my favorite restaurants, and caught an A's game at the Coliseum. Since we're both Mets fans, we went mainly to scope out the stadium and root against the A's opponent, the Yankees. The highlight for us was booing A-Rod every time he came up to bat. Unfortunately, he responded by belting a 3-run homer that put the game out of reach. Bummer. The stadium, though, was a pleasant surprise. It's not as fancy as the newer ballparks, but it has a good atmosphere and great sight lines. We scored $40 seats in section 110, 25 rows up from 1st base -- an unheard of price in New York.

Mark flew out from Florida to attend Stanford Law school's admitted students weekend. He's going for a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Law, and that's already on top of the masters in philosophy he received at Cambridge a year or two ago. Even though those sort of goals and achievements make me feel like a bum, I'm certainly not jealous of the work he's going to be putting in the next few years. Hopefully, we'll still both have time to go to a baseball game every once in a while.

Hummingbird Diving

On Sunday, Bing, Jess and I went for a 6 mile hike up and down the Montara Mountain / Brooks Creek trail in San Pedro Valley Park. Set in Pacifica, a small coastal town just south of San Francisco, the peak of Mt. Montara offers impressive 360 degree views of the Pacific Ocean to the west, Santa Cruz mountain range to the south, Mt. Diablo to the east, and Mt. Tamalpais to the north. (Unfortunately, I don't have any photographs. Just take my word for it, or hit the trail yourself on a clear day and see for yourself.)

The most interesting part of the trip, though, happened during the ascent. We noticed a tiny hummingbird repeatedly flying in a peculiar pattern: climbing 60 feet, then diving straight down kamikaze style before pulling back up at the last second. When we approached, the hummingbird continued its flight plan unaltered, just barely grazing the top of our heads. It must have repeated this flight plan over 15-20 times in the few minutes we stood watching.

After a brief internet search back home, I learned that we were witnessing a common sight along the coast of California during the early winter months. Anna's hummingbirds (spp. Calypte anna) begin nesting at this time, and males perform these dives as courtship displays to impress their potential female mates.

Interestingly, UC Berkeley researcher CJ Clark recently learned that the randy pilot flares its tail at the bottom of its dive, not only to prevent it crashing to the ground (with a force of 9 g's), but to create a loud chirping sound that attracts females.



Stop motion photography demonstrates the crazy things a little guy will do for a little love. Play on, playa, play on.