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Category Archives: Oakland

Walk at Your Own Risk

It’s been a terrible week for pedestrians around here. On Tuesday alone, a woman was killed in an Oakland crosswalk by a hit and run driver, a woman crossing the street in San Francisco was killed by a city utility truck (she appears to have been in a crosswalk too), and yet another woman was […]

Round Tops

This morning at Lake Merritt. There are two “round tops” in this photo: the turtle’s shell, and the distinctive peak in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve called Round Top, which is visible in the background.

These Feet Were Made for Walking

I certainly didn’t set out to circumnavigate the city of Piedmont last Saturday, or to walk a half marathon through Oakland’s hilly northeast quadrant. One thing leads to another, however; that’s just the way life works—or my life, at least. You put one foot in front of the other, and then you do it again—a […]

Right Place, Right Time

I was lucky to be walking by Lake Merritt when a rainbow was hovering over the Oakland hills this afternoon. Having the moon hanging out above the right side of the rainbow was just a bonus: If you like rainbows, you may want to click through for a larger version at Flickr. (There may be […]

It’s seen fire and it’s seen rain

I mentioned, back in mid-December, my amusement at finding an abandoned couch blocking 12th Avenue—whoever dumped it apparently couldn’t even be bothered to leave it on the side of the road. The sofa was moved to the sidewalk within a few hours, but there it has remained ever since. More than a month later, it […]

In the Beginning Was the Word

“The beginning, the spark. an ending count to rains that feLL aLL too quickly/now the blues of her dress. they cover my eyes and all that I SEE.” Author unknown, although it may be the same person who wrote the declaration of despair (now painted over) which I photographed in August less than a block […]

Local Paper Tars City with Knee-Jerk Headline

Since when is it okay for the Oakland Tribune refer to Oakland as “crime central” in huge font in the lead front page headline? A lot of people complain that the media are biased against Oakland—that they focus too much on Oakland’s crime and not enough on the good aspects of Oakland, that they depict […]

Picture Frame

Evidence of Things Unseen

This morning in East Oakland:

The Triumph of Hope over Experience

In a city which had to severely cut core services in order to deal with a 20% shortfall in its general fund earlier this year, and which faces further fiscal fiascoes for the foreseeable future, can someone explain to me why being the Chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee is being touted by Oakland […]

Debacle on 34th St.

This is the view to the north as you pass down 34th Street in Oakland between Telegraph and MLK, which I finally got around to photographing today: If you look at aerial photos of Oakland from the 40’s or 50’s, before these freeways and BART tracks were built, then you will find that the land […]

Smudge of Ashen Fluff

I often spot this bird in the tree outside my window. He (she?) was waiting out the rain there on Sunday morning. Not the greatest bird photos ever, but I like the varied textures of its feathers. (This post does need some avian title. Help me, Vlad! Smudge of Ashen Fluff.)