until suburbia!

Enable New Sculptures

June 19, 2020August 20, 2020Silvia

There are spaces for new sculptures in this country. While some sculptures are offensive and protesters have managed to topple some of them lately, there are also sculptures that inspire us.

Georg Huerter's Yellow Barrel Ring at Menlo College.

One place to view new sculptures is Menlo College. From September 25 – 27 the Silicon Valley Sculpture 2020, a fine art fair, will be held on their campus. This year’s theme is “Past, Present, Progressive”, a fitting motto for 2020.

Sculpture at Menlo College from Rotaut. Part of the Silicon Valley Sculpture 2020.

They have just started to add sculptures on campus. For example George Huerter’s ‘Yellow Barrel Ring’ greets visitors when entering the campus. There is also the work of Rotraut, a German-French visual artist, which glisters in the sun in a metallic black.

Are there any sculptures you would like to see in public places?

Discover more of San Mateo County – see my 50 things to do in San Mateo County.

Intel building in Mountain View, Superfund site

Explore the Dark Side of Silicon Valley

June 12, 2020August 20, 2020Silvia

Originally I wanted my next blog post to be about the Superfund sites in Silicon Valley. In Mountain View alone there are seven hazardous waste sites that are commonly leftover from manufacturing facilities, like the production of semiconductors. In the case of Mountain View, these are Fairchild Semiconductor, Teledyne Semiconductor, CTS Pintex, Inc., Jasco Chemical Corp., Intel, Raytheon Corp.. and Spectra-Physics Inc.

William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain received the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.

The man who put the silicon in Silicon Valley through the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, William Shockley, has an even darker side to him. Shockley. A Nobel Prize winner for physics, weighed in on white supremacy and his view of genetic IQ differences. In a 2015 National Geographic article said about Shockley: “despite a complete lack of formal education in biology and genetics, Shockley tried to use these fields of study to support a set of racist ideas known as eugenics.”

In 1956 Shockley lectured at Stanford and in 1963 was appointed as professor of engineering. He taught until 1975, but I could find no evidence that Stanford distanced themselves from the racist Shockley who published articles about his extremist ideas while teaching at the university.

391 San Antonio Rd. the site where Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory used to be.

The city of Mountain View acknowledges the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory as the birthplace of Silicon Valley with a plaque and an art installation at the site of 391 San Antonio Rd. The original building was torn down and nowadays is part of The Village, a complex of shopping malls, office buildings, apartments, and restaurants.

Part of the art work at 391 San Antonio Rd

Do you know of other dark sides of Silicon Valley?

Resources:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-real-birthplace-of-silicon-valley-mountain-view-california

https://www.wired.com/story/silicon-valleys-first-founder-was-its-worst/

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/Silicon-Valley-Shockley-racist-semiconductor-lab-13164228.php#item-95844-tbla-4

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/10/151005-nobel-laureates-forget-racist-sexist-science/

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/btshoc.html

https://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/shockley/shockley3.html

https://ee.stanford.edu/about/history

Explore Stanford with my tips of 50 things to do at Stanford!

Posters from Oree Originol honoring People of Color killed by law enforcement

Support Black Lives

June 5, 2020May 6, 2022Silvia

“Please, I can’t breath.” It’s been a week of protest and anger. A wave has swept this nation. A powerful series of waves, like water will grind down the land. Now is the time to rise.

Justice for George Floyd an illustrations by Oree Originol

Protests are just the beginning. In order to change the systemic racism we have to be aware of privilege, come together, enable change, listen, and act.

Here is a list of things that will help to make sure Black Lives Matter.

Action cards

The most creative approach to the question on what to do about racial injustice comes from the Oakland Museum of California with their Take Action cards. Check out their Instagram feed to see the cards (instagram.com/oaklandmuseumca).

Donate money to the cause

Bail and legal support:

Flyer on how to support #BlackLivesMatter

The Minnesota Freedom Fund (https://mnfreedomfund.org/)

Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee Bail Fund (https://rally.org/ARCbailfund)

San Francisco National Lawyers Guild (NLG) (nlgsf.org/ways-to-contribute/)

NAACP (https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6857/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=15780&_ga=2.22006142.412847870.1591227461-53649289.1591227461)

ACLU (https://action.aclu.org/give/now)

Non-emergency support:

Black Lives Matter (https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019)

East Oakland Collective (http://www.eastoaklandcollective.com/)

People’s Breakfast Oakland (https://linktr.ee/PBO)

Planting Justice (https://plantingjustice.org/)

Roots Clinic (https://rootsclinic.org/)

Restore Oakland (http://restoreoakland.org/)

Oakland Indie Alliances (http://www.oaklandindiealliance.com/repair)

Anti Police Terror Project (https://www.antipoliceterrorproject.org/)

Volunteer

Rock the Vote (https://www.rockthevote.org/get-involved/)

A list of actions against racism by the UN: Let’s fight racism (https://www.un.org/en/letsfightracism/)

Vote

President Obama weighted in lately on how important voting is (https://medium.com/@BarackObama/how-to-make-this-moment-the-turning-point-for-real-change-9fa209806067) and to move a step further you can read the report and toolkit from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights developed by the Obama Foundation (https://www.obama.org/wp-content/uploads/Toolkit.pdf)

Black Future Lab (https://blackfutureslab.org/)

Track progress of legislations

Campaign Zero let’s you track the progress state legislations against police violence (https://www.joincampaignzero.org/#action)

Make a call

To contact your representative just got easier, just download the 5calls app (https://5calls.org/)

Sign Petitions

Poster from the 'Black Panthers at 50' exhibit at the OMCA: Unity is the Solution

Color of Change (https://act.colorofchange.org/signup/state-emergency-black-people-are-dying)

NAACP (http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6857/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=27063)

Join a group

Showing up for Racial Justice (https://www.surjbayarea.org/)

Educate yourself about racism

General reading list on how to be an antiracist, put together by the San Francisco library:

https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/list/share/433865467_sfpl_readersadvisory/1494408919_be_an_antiracist

Truth be told is a podcast from KQED (https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/truthbetold).

Corrine Shutuck wrote a list of 75 things white people can do for racial justice (https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234)

Great resource list especially for kids from DC Area Educators for Social Justice (https://www.dcareaeducators4socialjustice.org/resources)

Buy from black businesses

BAOBOB is a directory listing for black owned businesses in the Bay Area (https://baobobdirectory.com/)

The Official Black Wall Street app lists black-owned businesses (https://obws.com/)

For black-owned restaurants download the EatOkra app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/eatokra/id1175921760)

Black Nation app (https://www.blacknation.app/)

We Buy Black (https://webuyblack.com/)

Buy art that matters

The Tracy Piper has a vibrant print at the Voss Gallery. Proceeds go to Black Lives Matter (https://vossgallery.art/collections/the-tracy-piper/products/black-lives-matter)

Black Table Arts, a Minnesota based initiative to help community through art (http://www.blacktablearts.com/)

Kyle Harder donates proceeds from his print RISE! to Reclaim The Block (https://kyleharterart.bigcartel.com/product/rise)

How do you support black lives?

Resources:

https://www.7×7.com/black-lives-matter-bay-area-resources-2646147346/get-directly-involved-with-black-lives-matter

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13881199/5-ways-to-show-up-for-racial-justice-today

NASA's NeMO-Net game lobby. Screenshot courtesy of NASA.

Classify Coral Reefs

May 29, 2020September 8, 2020Silvia

When you play NeMO-Net, a single player iPad or phone game, you will help NASA map out the ocean floor and assess the health of coral reefs around the world.

First I downloaded the app to my phone, got a username assigned, and then was greeted by Sylvia Earle, an Oceanographer from NASA’s NeMO-Net. NeMo-Net is a game created for us to learn about corals, how to identify them. NASA’s ultimate goal is to teach their supercomputer to learn with us and to create a global dataset to classify reefs.

Screenshot courtesy of NASA

The game begins with a tutorial on how to zoom, rotate, and paint corals and other shallow marine environments in 3D. While you paint you listen to some meditative music, headphones are highly recommended! If you finish painting a coral with 90% accuracy, you are invited to Guam. From there you can start learning about different corals and help NASA to map the ocean floor.

Screenshot of NeMO-Net game, a colored in coral. — Screenshot courtesy of NASA

It is a very relaxing game, kind of like paint by numbers while you do some good. So, if you need to chill for a bit I challenge you to a game of NeMo-Net. The game play took a bit getting used to; the hand gestures are unfamiliar to me since I don’t play 3D games. Plus I had to get my reading glasses since the font is very tiny!

It wouldn’t be NASA if the implications of this game did not have anything to do with space. Indeed, the technology could be used to identify life on other planets or examine ancient Martian life.

Have you played NeMo-Net yet?

Have you visited the NASA Ames Research Center?

Wind Wave with art in the park sign at Byxbee Park, Palo Alto.

Enjoy Some Art at Byxbee Park

May 22, 2020September 8, 2020Silvia

A few years ago I wrote about The Pole Field at Byxbee Park in Palo Alto (Walk the trails between Bay and posts). Since my radius of wandering is limited right now, I recently went back there. Speaking of limited, parking is only allowed in the lots, no street parking. But this was no issue in the middle of the day on a weekday.

There were only a few people walking and running. The most interesting method of movement was presented by three motorized unicyclists in full gear on a hot day.

Foraging Islands by Watershed Sculpture at Byxbee Park in Palo Alto.

I did come for the art and the joy of exercise. Foraging Islands by Watershed Sculpture was installed in 2018 and is an ecological sculpture absolutely fitting for the Byxbee Park and its idea of intersecting nature and culture. With the help of a multitude of volunteers gathering nearby materials, they established a dam-like temporary public art installation, a perfect habitat for insects and rodents.

Wind Wave by Peter Richads, Michael Oppenheimer and George Hargreve & Associates at Byxbee Park in Palo Alto.

Across from the Foraging Island is the Wind Wave which is part of the permanent art displayed together with The Pole Field and The Chevrons, a collaboration of artists Peter Richards, Michael Oppenheimer and the landscape design and architects George Hargreaves and Associates.

Have you ever enjoyed a walk of nature and art at Byxbee Park?

Kite flying at the kite flying area at Shoreline Park in Mountain View.

Fly a Kite

May 15, 2020September 8, 2020Silvia

Family flying a kite at the kite flying area at Shoreline Park in Mountain View.

Did you know that there is a kite flying area at Shoreline Park in Mountain View? Since it is close to the Bay it always seems to have a nice breeze. Perfect for kites of all abilities.

Kite at the Shoreline Park kite flying area in Mountain View.

I recently saw a traditional bird, a long cylinder with ruffles, and what looked like a miniature hang glider kite in rainbow colors. The more professional hang glider kite was doing constant loops and making some humming noises while cutting through the air. The other two were just pleased to be aloft.

While on a midweek afternoon this seemed to be an activity for middle-aged men, on a recent weekend trip I saw little kids flying kites with their parents.

Sign for the kite flying area general use parking at Shoreline Park in Mountain View.

Since the golf course is open again, you can drive into the park. The kite flying area is your first possible right turn with plenty of parking. (And there is a handicapped port-o-potty.)

When was the last time you flew a kite?

If you are looking for other fun things to do in Mountain View I recommend my 50 things to do in Mountain View.

Bliss in the moment by James Moore on the Bay Trail, Palo Alto.

Take Advantage of your Bike

May 8, 2020September 8, 2020Silvia

May is National Bike month. If I could name one thing that shelter-in-place has a positive impact on is the streets are emptier and therefore easier to ride a bike.

A lot of first time riders, with their parents are confident enough to ride on the streets these days. There are also multiple levels of bike trails around.

To spice things up you could challenge someone, friends or family, to an interesting goal. How about: Burn 6 tacos in a week? Or: Ride 100 miles in May. Record your trips and register with https://www.lovetoride.net/usa/signups/new, you even will have a chance to win attractive prizes, e.g. a new bike!

Suggestions on bike trails:

Bay Trail

The San Francisco Bay Trail is a 500 miles walking and cycling path that spans all nine Bay Area counties.

Home

East Bay

The Bay Bridge Trail is a 4.4 mile round trip from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island over the Bay Bridge.

https://www.baybridgeinfo.org/path

North Bay

The Paradise Loop is a more challenging ride, this 38 miles loop starts in Tiburon.

https://bayarearides.com/rides/tiburonloop/

Peninsula

On Sundays, between 9 am and 3 pm, a 3.8 mile stretch on Cañada Road in Woodside is closed off for non-motorized activities.

https://parks.smcgov.org/bicycle-sunday

Marin

The Tennessee Valley might be closed right now. Please check before you go.

https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/tennessee_valley.htm

Do you have a favorite bike ride?

If you are taking a break sometimes you can find fun ways to look up your bike, for example in Los Altos.

Keep Safe. Use Social Distancing. 6 ft apart. Groups of 10 person or less.

Share your COVID-19 Experiences

May 1, 2020September 8, 2020Silvia

Everybody agrees that these are strange and unprecedented times. The new normal will be walking around with a mask and getting used to not touching our faces. To survive a pandemic is an accomplishment and we are bound to record this as best as we can.

A lot of local history museums in the Bay Area are accepting your quarantine stories, photos, and other media.

San Francisco

Sign in front of a bar in Mountain View offering white flour, yeast and toilet paper. Plus a delivery robot.

California Historical Society, the official historical society for the State of California, has a website with a form to invite you to answer a few questions about your experience with COVID-19.

https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/initiatives/tell-your-story-california-during-the-time-of-covid-19/

Some local history museums are also collecting your descriptions of the pandemic.

Cupertino

Cupertino residents may share their experiences and media with Cupertino’s Historical Society. They have an online submission form:

bit.ly/CupertinoCOVID19

Sunnyvale

If you documented COVID-19 related events in Sunnyvale, please submit them to the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association:

https://heritageparkmuseum.org/blog/documenting-the-sunnyvale-experience-of-covid-19

Los Altos

Sign at a busstop in Mountain View. Is this an Essential Trip? Yes -> Okay to Ride. No -> Why are you even here reading this?-> Go Home. Stay Home. Stop the Spread.

The Los Altos History Museum is asking residents of Santa Clara County to submit and share your stories, photographs, or other items documenting your experience with COVID-19. https://www.losaltoshistory.org/documenting-covid-19-in-santa-clara-county/

Campbell

The Campbell Historical Museum is also asking for artifacts and journals that represent this crisis.

https://www.campbellmuseums.com/how-to-document-the-covid-19-pandem

Disposable glove trashed in a parking lot.

Santa Cruz

is planning on an exhibit with your submissions. In These Uncertain Times is scheduled from October 16th, 2020 to April 4th, 2021 the MAH will exhibit how daily lives have changed in the pandemic through community-sourced artwork.

https://santacruzmah.org/exhibitions/uncertain-times

Artist are also asked to share their work at the Tenderloin Museum’s virtual gallery

http://www.tenderloinmuseum.org/shelterinplace to show life under lockdown: Shelter In Place

Writing about this time might help you to work through it. How are you coping?

If I missed a history museum in the area that also collects submissions, please add your information in the comment section.

Go on a Virtual Nature Tour

April 24, 2020May 6, 2022Silvia

Last week I gave you a collection of virtual art. This week, with John Muir’s birthday on April 21st and Earth Day April 22nd, it is natural to talk about nature in the Bay Area.

Screenshot of the Oakland Zoo grizzly bear cam.

If you are looking for animals the Oakland Zoo has some webcams for bears and elephants. On my latest visit I did not see any animals, but this might be a virtual hunt (https://www.oaklandzoo.org/webcams)?

Screenshot of jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I was luckier at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the otters were frolicking around (https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams/sea-otter-cam), the jelly cam mesmerized me with some minimalistic sounds and the slow movement of the jellyfish (https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams/jelly-cam).

If your love for animals is on a smaller scale, you can watch a few YouTube videos of insects by the Essig Museum of Entomology (https://essig.berkeley.edu/bugged/).

To explore interesting articles by Bay Area Nature magazine (https://baynature.org/category/explore/) is always a great pastime.

How about a virtual garden tour? Bringing back the Natives Garden Tour (https://www.bringingbackthenatives.net/2020-virtual-tour) will zoom you to native gardens in the Bay Area the next three Sundays from 10 am – 3 pm, registration is required, donations are appreciated.

A virtual park experience is promised by the East Bay Regional Park District (https://www.ebparks.org/activities/digital_learning/default.htm). Park Naturalists tell you everything from how to dissect a flower to why you should count worms in your soil.

Participate in the City Nature Challenge, April 24th – 27th, 2020! You’ll have to download the free iNaturalist app and upload your findings (https://citynaturechallenge.org/).

Or how about playing a nature bingo? (https://drive.google.com/file/d/121rcsGxlSuXQ7ekmkKzEO-h9H-4xqova/view)

On May 6th you can join the live streamed walk of the Los Gator Creek, RSVP required (https://www.savedbynature.org/event-info/creek-tales-nature-walk). Saved By Nature is an amazing organization whose goal is to bring nature to the people that can’t physically go and see it themselves. In the old times this meant persons by illnesses bound to their beds.

For a calming 12 minute listening experience I recommend ParkTracks, a compilation of nature sounds (https://findyourpark.com/about/news/parktracks).

There are many resources out for you to explore. Let’s all enjoy nature close to home right now, so we can flatten the curve.

Happy Earth Day!

Judy Chicago interviewed in 2018 at the Stanford University.

Go on a Virtual Tour

April 17, 2020May 6, 2022Silvia

Week five for shelter-in-place for the Bay Area has me going a bit stir crazy and longing for some art. I do get my daily art fix from Google’s arts & culture app. I really like the art projector where you can really zoom in on a masterpiece, for example, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.

If you’d like to explore the local art scene without using up gas in your car (yeah we are really doing something for the climate now) here are some links to virtual tours.

Rosie Lee Thompkins crazy quilt at the BAMPFA, Berkeley.

Larry Rinder, BAMPFA Director and Chief Curator, walks us through Rosie Lee Tompkins: A Retrospective. Rosie Lee Tompkins was a quilter in a wider sense, and I am really thankful for Mr. Rinder’s explanations of her works. My favorite quilt was the crazy quilt, a style where different shapes are combined. (1 h 12 min, https://bampfa.org/rosie-lee-tompkins-slideshow#rlt-video) I recommend clicking on the link and watching it in full screen on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=232&v=T8NL3KAA8wQ&feature=emb_title).

The Hearst Museum of Anthropology has a few links to keep you busy, from online exhibits, over recorded lectures, to the sound and light archive. (https://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/hearst-from-home/).

The Oakland Museum of California (https://museumca.org/omca-at-home) and the Cantor Arts Center (https://museum.stanford.edu/museums-home) have an ‘explore from home’ section.

Time-laps installation of Sonya Rapport biorhythm at the San Jose Museum of Art.

If you want a look behind the scenes of an art museum you should click on the link for the San Jose Museum of Art (https://sjmusart.org/we-are-listening).

MACLA is bringing you Stories from La Sala (https://maclaarte.org/stories-from-la-sala/) your daily dose of contemporary LatineX art.

The NUMU invites you to take a virtual spin through their exhibitions (https://www.numulosgatos.org/virtual).

And the Palo Alto Art Center teaches virtual art classes (https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/artcenter/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=4878).

While virtual tours cannot replace seeing artwork in person, kind of like looking at a cookbook doesn’t satisfy the need to eat, it helps in times when we are all housebound to get our minds off things.

I hope everyone is safe and healthy!

I also found some virtual nature tours to enjoy!