Neptune Landing

After a 3-year-closed-renovation, the SFMOMA is back in action, featuring the work of the late Bruce Conner, one of the country's most daring artists of the mid-20th century. Conner, a sculptor who hung with the Beats, was also one of San Francisco's biggest fans. His exhibit, "It's All True," runs through January 22nd. On Black Friday, Mauricio and I were able to score free tickets (Thanks, Heather!!) for the newly-renovated behemoth which sits at 3rd and Mission Streets near Montgomery BART station. 2,700 tickets had been purchased for that day but we arrived on the earlier end and were able to focus, unmolested, on the 4th and 6th floors. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is now the nation's largest art museum , clocking in at 460,000 square footage of museum space. For best results, don't attempt to devour the whole institution in one day. Deeply disturbed by nuclear annihilation and the violent tendencies of America, a lot of Conner's...

Inspiration (from the Latin inspiratus or "breathe into") requires an element of surprise. It works best in the least likely of places and through the least likely of people. Hillary Rodham Clinton may be an unlikely figure for inspiration considering her inability to campaign in poetry. In fact, we can rest assured that she'll govern just as she has campaigned: in prose, a no-nonsense prose that leaves little room for hot air. This is why she has her star-studded surrogates out spinning yarns in iambic pentameter. Think about it: she's got Bill, Bernie, Obama, Michelle, Bruce and Katy as the bards by her side. So why am I turned on by her banal and sober speech? The key is respect. She doesn't feign splash because she can't pull it off. It's not her style and she owns it. Just compare Hill to her opponent, a towering figure comprised of all style and no substance. Ironic then that I found substance in a flashy place. For this weekend I, along with ...