The view from Cafe du Soleil on one of our final San Francisco mornings

The view from Cafe du Soleil on one of our final San Francisco mornings
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

With time running out and so many images coming to mind that I'd love to capture to remember San Francisco with permanence, I'm grabbing the camera more often as of late. I hope you see a moment or two that you can appreciate being passed along. Rock on.

Sign art being done by a real, self-confessed "Wall Dog" at the Dolores Park Cafe

Sign art by a real, self-confessed "Wall Dog" for the Dolores Park Cafe
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

A typically ridiculous, poetic moment on a street corner in the Lower Haight

A typically ridiculous moment on a street corner in the Lower Haight
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Another morning's damage repair probably thanks to the Toronado

Another morning's damage repair probably thanks to the Toronado
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

The Toronado is the best beer joint in San Francisco. The Lower Haight's definitely got its rough side, but it's some of the most interesting urban imagery in the City. If you look closely, you can actually see the super prepping to fix a broken window just upstairs from the Toronado's front door. Probably not the first time that's happened in the 'hood.

Maya offers up her best Beck Hansen imitation.

Maya offers up her best Beck Hansen imitation.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

She told me this look was most influenced by his cover for "Mutations". But she also said something about having bangs down to her chin these days.

The oxidizing copper skin of the new DeYoung Museum after less than a year.

The oxidizing copper skin of the new DeYoung Museum after less than a year.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

The DeYoung will end up looking like the Statue of Liberty or some of the other statues in the Park. Most like the Cervantes one just to the North of the Museum, I say. I, for one and surely not only, dig it.

The look after dark in Kezar Stadium

The look after dark in Kezar Stadium
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

One of my favorite San Francisco spots. Hard to imagine the 49ers playing games there until the 50s. But they darn sure did, I reckon. I really should track down some Packers-Niners shots from games up to that era.

For Maya, a drum circle would be a chance to stack up more crap.

For Maya, a drum circle would be a chance to stack up more crap.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Chuckles uncorks his horribly dull voice

If you want to dissect where the debate between the Bushies and everyone else starts and ends, look no further than today's Supreme Court ruling about Guantanamo Bay military tribunals. The Bushies lost this one, having been called out for violating international military law (you can't prosecute "conspiracy" against enemies, only specific acts) and the Geneva Convention. And the military lawyer - a JAG dude, I'm assuming - Commander Charles Swift called this ruling a high water mark for our society. Besides having the coolest title in the military (generals got nuttin' on being a frickin' commander), Swift knocked it out of the park on insta-responsing. "A return to our fundamental values," Swift deemed it and called it "a victory, folks." Yup, he even got the "folks" bit in there. So the Bushie supporting legal scholar took a broadside at the ruling by calling it "an example of justices making it up as they go along." Which I assume to also be a direct slam on Anthony Kennedy in his role as the new Sandra Day O'Swingvote. And Clarence "I eat alone" Thomas read his first opinion from the bench in his 15 years on the Court. Tell me that doofus wasn't the least qualified mind of his generation. If you want to know what sort of bootlicker justice Harrier Miers would have turned out to be, look no further than Chuckles Thomas. Regardless, big ruling. Court watchers surely will have that tingly feeling all day.

Hope your own tingles are justifiable. Rock on.

"You see the problem, dear Listener, is that your garden variety Liberal has way too many boners..."

Rush Limbaugh is the bloated, obscene gift that just keeps on giving. Now he's been busted for a pretty cheesy misdemeanor coming into Palm Beach from the Dominican Republic carrying mislabeled boner pills. It wouldn't mean a thing, except he's on probation for his prior drug problems and he's open to random drug testing at any time. I expect the horse head in the bed next to him in his trashy Florida castle ain't far behind.



Even a gift from the ironically-just Gawds like Rush's need for a boner rush or Axl Rose getting busted in Sweden can't seem to bust through the crap these days. A continuance of nothing going right in the various Wars the Bushies got us into, and the Katrina waste becoming most itemized. The pic on the front of the NYTimes of 10,000 empty FEMA trailerhomes stored in Arkansas for $250K a month in rent should be the biggest embarrassment of the day. But instead it's just part of the pretty typical bad newsiness. Hope y'all understand that's why I've been a bit off the job here lately - it's all shite out there. Instead we're getting ready for a big move to Seattle in a few weeks. Lots of changes coming in a bunch. Lots to look forward to. Hope your own plans for the near future are hard to sum up quickly. Rock on.

Cookie break for Maya in the courtyard of the Museo.

Cookie break for Maya in the courtyard of the Museo.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

The pillar in the the courtyard of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia

The pillar in the the courtyard of the Museo Nacional de Anthological
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Freakin' beautiful construction. As a matter of fact, the largest weight in the World supported by a single pillar.

Me. In a previous life. Doin' the Charleston.

Me. In a previous life. Doin' the Charleston.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

This rock head totally rocked. Dood.

This rock head totally rocked. Dood.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

The face of Mayan royalty.

The face of Mayan royalty.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

I could totally trust this dude. Or chick. Couldn't we all?

Maya shows disgust as she hears of our departure from Mexico.

Maya shows disgust as she hears of our departure from Mexico.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

As a matter of catching up on a few photos we especially liked, this just about ends our Mexico series. Thanks for checking in.

We're back, Baby!

Hello America, how are you? We're just fine now that we're back in San Francisco after a month in Mexico - thanks for asking. All things considered, we had a good month in Cuernavaca. Maya survived just fine, Sarah got the clinical experience she was hoping for, and I didn't get dissentary. Or at least it wasn't an especially bad case. Before I return to the daily absurdities of life here in the good ol' U S of Freakin' A, I'd like to offer my brief review of Mexico. My rating of the country is a squishy B-minus. And while many people may object to just one overall grade, I offer the following defense of doing so with a handful of cheeky anecdotes.

Cuernavaca gets a C-minus. As far as cities go, it's the Mexican equivalent of, say, Tulsa.

The Mexican people get an A-minus. I'd give them an A, except for the one crooked cabbie I met that ruined it for everyone.

The food gets a D. Only because we couldn't eat it. The fact that the water is so much of a concern rates even lower.

The places we visited get a solid B. Acapulco was kinda crappy, Xochicalco was a trippy cool example of an ancient site that has been excavated and preserved, the towns of Taxco and Tepotzlan were authentically interesting, and we didn't see enough of Mexico City in one day to render anything like a legetimate judgment. We did come across a massive Gay Pride Parade on our way to our hotel which was a welcome taste of life back in San Francisco. While exploring the insanely cool Museo Nacional de Antropologia, we saw the actor William Hurt also checking out Mexico's rich history of, like, history stuff. Our hotel in Mexico City, the Camino Real, was totally arty farty (much more art than fart). But on the way to the airport yesterday morning I saw two billboards featuring Paris Hilton - one for her signature fragrance, "Just Me", and another for (I'm totally serious) Boone's Farm fortified wine. Any country that pays attention to her has issues. Including us.

The wall-to-wall political advertising throughout the country gets a C. I picked up something of a feel for the breakdown between national parties. And the center-left vs. center-right showdown will make for an important bellwether of the political wind blowing all the way up from South America to our southern border. Basically, we've lost the hemisphere given the policies of zenophobia emanating from the Bushies and their compatriots. So in actuality, I give the overall learning process of getting a better feel for what's what in Mexico and farther South a B-plus. Fascinating really.

So round it out to a B-minus for the small slice of Mexico that we saw. I'd suggest that we all should spend some time there and especially not just in the traditional Spring Break sort of locales. Even if you spend half your time on the toilet, it's worth the time spent exploring.

Hope you own feel for the world improved recently. Rock on.

"Would you get a load of that funky chicken?"

"Would you get a load of that chicken?"
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Maya checks out the peacocks that populate the garden at the restaurant Las Mananitas, where we had our last night's celebratory meal in Cuernavaca.

Now THAT's a stick shift.

Now THAT's a stick shift.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

On one of the "ruta" buses driving home from the zocalo in Cuernavaca, I was impressed by this tripped out item that directly contrasted with the stripped down crappiness of the remainder of the bus.

Maya daycare departure routine has become just that - routine. Just about the time we're getting ready to head back to the States.

Maya daycare departure routine has become just that - routine. Just about the time we're getting ready to head back to the States.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.