Stikman Streetart in San Francisco

Stikman in North Beach, San Francisco on the window of an abandoned historical jazz club called Jazz at Pearls. This is the first time I've seen him in a window and not in a crosswalk. This photo was taken in 2010 during winter. Columbus at Broadway in San Francisco.

SimoneSmith writes: "Should you see a stickman or stikmen in San Francisco, or in any place for that matter, take a moment to appreciate your discovery of one of the world's many fascinating little mysteries. You can enjoy your discovery even more by snapping a photo of the figure and adding to the growing stickman >>STIKMAN<< flickr pool."



Stikman on Broadway at Battery in San Francisco 2011 in the Summer. He's just a mystery and The Washington Post calls it well, "Created by an unknown guerrilla street artist from corrugated plastic, vinyl records, burlap sacks or scraps of wood, metal or cloth, the robot figure, dubbed stikman, can be seen all over town.But stikman is seen most often in crosswalks, as a sticker pasted to the pavement." On the Trail of the Mysterious Stikman



North Point near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco - Nov. 2012

I don't know the creator of Stikman and it's not that important to find out, but I'd like whomever it is to know that I love discovering the little guy around our beautiful city. He's definitely made me smile on many occasions as well as almost get hit by a car while trying to snap a photo.

If you see this little guy, please take a photo and add it to the Flickr Group.

“MY WORKSPACE” - BY STIKMAN on Wooster Collective “I actually work in several different spaces but I’ll just stick to two here. The first picture is of the bench where I assemble the classic small stikman. The second photo is of my outside painting area where I do all of my painting. I really love working outside with a sky above me. That light gives me a real sense of how pieces will look installed. Of note is the hollow core doors I paint on. You can find them for free in dumpsters and they are very lightweight for easy carrying. They also constantly evolve as paintings in their own right. I sometime jigsaw stikmen out of the painted doors and attach them to buildings” peace and love stikman



Stikman on the Embarcadero - a main street along the waterfront in San Francisco near Pier 39. This was taken in the Fall of 2011

UPDATED FROM 2010 - Always on the lookout!

Feb. 12, 2013 - Stikman in San Francisco



Stikman in the Crosswalk at Francisco Street and Mason Street in San Francisco. I was riding my bike when I saw this little guy! He's BACK!!! Who is the artist? Anyone know?



Close up of the Stikman on Francisco Feb. 12, 2013

Nikon D3100 18-55mm VR Lens 14.0 MP Digital SLR D3100KITOM (Google Affiliate Ad)

Mung Bean Soup - Vegan

I started a photo album on Facebook, Eat Good Food, after reading about the Chick-Fil-a controversy and how people were waiting in line for fast-food to support the comments made by chief operating officer Dan Cathy opposing same-sex marriage.

Since starting Eat Good Food, I've had several people ask if I could forward the recipes to the many dishes photographed in this album. Here is one I posted last week, Nov. 2012, for an Ayurvedic Detox Diet. Mung bean is Ayurvedic - good for clearing chronic, troublesome digestive issues and helps balance all 3 doshas. Read about Mung Bean Nutrition at Livestrong. This dish is vegan.



What is MUNG bean? Mung bean is a seed of Vigna radiata. Yeah, whatever. Most people know it as a bean sprout use in pho soups or just plain ol' sprouts. I purchased my mung bean in Chinatown, but I've heard that Rainbow Grocery carries it as well.



Mung Bean Sprouts - Now do you recognize them?



Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole, green mung bean
- 1 cup quinoa
- 6 fresh sprigs thyme
- 2 Tbsp fresh chopped Basil
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 celery sticks
- 1/2 head cauliflower (white or purple)
- 4 large carrots or 1 small butternut squash
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 handful of spinach
- 1/2 head of purple cabbage
- salt / pepper (as you wish)
- 3 or 4 cups of veggie broth or homemade chicken broth

Tools:
- Stub Dutch Oven or soup pot
- chopping board
- knife



Directions:
- Wash mung beans and soak them in water over night (8 hours). Toss water out the next morning.
- Add broth (veggie or chicken) to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Add mung bean and turn heat to medium. Cook for 30 minutes with lid off pot
- While mung beans are cooking, chop veggies into bite-size pieces, take stem off kale and chop leafy green (toss the stems).
- Add carrot or squash, cauliflower, cabbage, and celery
- Cook for another 25 to 30 minutes on medium heat. If the pot is boiling, turn down temp. You don't want to burn the bottom of the pot. Stir often.
- Now add all spices and stir the pot
- On low heat, add the kale and spinach (use one or both)
- Add water if needed and let cook for another 30 minutes to an hour on low heat with cover on pot (put lid on pot). Occasionally stirring.

If needed, add protein:
- Cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups water.
Add small amount of cooked quinoa to individual cup of soup or eat as a side-dish for a cholesterol-free and low-fat source of protein. One cup of cooked quinoa provides 222 calories.

Secrets to Firing Up Your Metabolism

Aim for 25 g to 30 g of fiber per day. To get the most benefit for your calories, load up your plate with these 10 foods, which, in addition to having fiber, Norwegian researchers have found are high scorers when it comes to antioxidant capacity: walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, dark chocolate, blackberries, cranberries, boiled artichokes, dried apricots, curly kale and red cabbage.

Amaranth with Apricots and Walnuts in Coconut Milk

Amaranth with Apricots, Walnuts, and Flax Seed in Coconut Milk is what's for breakfast!

Amaranth is a grain comparable to rice or maize and is unusually high in protein according to the ECHO.  I was reading on Wikipedia that at one point this grain was banded by the conquistadores (Spanish and Portuguese soldiers) upon their conquest of the Aztec nation. The outlaw grain is gluten free and at one point considered a weed.



Bring 1 cup of water to a boil, then add 1/2 cup amaranth grain. Cook for about 30 minutes or until water evaporates.

Once the amaranth is cooked, add:
-- 2 Apricots chopped into bite-size pieces
-- 2 or 3 tablespoons of coconut milk
-- Chopped walnuts
-- Flax seeds
Stir on medium-low heart for about 1 minute.

Bobs Red Mill 21126 Organic Amaranth Flour (Google Affiliate Ad)



A perfect way to start your day with a healthy Gluten Free, Soy Free, Daily Free,  and Vegan breakfast

Thai Kitchen 18910 Coconut Ginger Soup (Google Affiliate Ad)



If you want to add meat to your diet, you can grill up some organic gluten free chicken sausages.

Ingredients:
-- 2 Apricots
-- 3 tablespoons Organic coconut milk
-- 1 tablespoon Flax Seed
-- 1/2 cup Amaranth grain
-- Handfull of Walnuts

Grilled Peaches with Balsamic Honey Reduction and Walnuts

Summertime in San Francisco isn't always perfect grilling weather. It's been foggy for the last month here in the city. We call these foggy months by July-uary or Fogust. It's just too windy and cold. However, it's perfect for indoor grilling.

I've served my grilled peaches as an appetizer or antipasto (before the meal). It's a unique, seasonal dish to start a dinner party off and your guest will be impressed by the light, flavorful dish.  It's a very simple dish and takes less than 15 minutes of total prep/cooking time.



Historically, peaches were native to China and then moved to other peach-producing areas like Iran, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. Cool to know, I think.

I've purchased California organic white peaches to grill today, but you can use any fresh, almost ripe peach.



-- Wash, dry and cut peaches in halve
-- Remove the stone or pit
-- Brush oil on the cut-side of the peach







-- Oil the Staub 12-inch grill pan and preheat to medium-high on a stove top
-- Place the peaces cut-side up for about 2 to 3 minutes
-- Flip peaches to the cut-side down for 4 minutes or less

While waiting for the peaches to cook, start your balsamic reduction.
-- Balsamic vinegar
-- Raw Organic Honey

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon honey until it thickens or until liquid had reduced by one half. Stirring the whole time. Afterwards, remove from heat and let the reduction cool for a few minutes to thicken.




Transfer the peach halves to individual serving dishes, and drizzle with honey balsamic reduction and fresh walnuts.

Ingredients:
-- 1 peaches (1/2 peach per person. If cooking for 4 people, purchase 2 peaches)
-- 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
-- 1 tablespoon Raw Organic Honey
-- Walnuts

Tools:
-- Grill Pan
-- Sauce Pan

Northern Spain Day One - Cycle Tour 2012

I booked my biking tour with Iron Donkey and traveled with Iberocycle - a cycling company outsourced by Iron Donkey. Both cycling companies were very helpful with my last minute booking, excellent communication during pre-trip preparation, and exceeded all my expectations during the 7 day guided cycling tour -- new high-end rental bikes, nightly meetings with detailed information about the next days bike ride, history and points of interest about the area we were biking and suggested restaurants to try along the ride.



Sunday, July 1, 2012 pick-up at Hotel Nervión scheduled at 12:20 and they were right on time. Lucky I was too. We had 6 passengers and the driver, Simon Proffitt. Simon is the own and tour guide for Iberocycle. During our one hour drive from Bilbao to Santillana del Mar, we got to know each other and talk about the tour and our cycling adventures.

Shimano SH-XC50N Mountain Bike Shoe For Men - Black In Size: 42

Above photo is a view of our hotel, Hotel Colegiata, located about 300 meters from the center of Santillana del Mar.



It's about a ten minute walk from the Hotel Colegiata to the center of Santillana del Mar.

A short bike ride from the center of town are the Altamira Caves (Cuevas de Altamira), discovered around 1880 and known for their upper paleolithic cave paintings. I didn't venture out to see the caves, but it was offered as an option to us.




We arrived at Santillana shortly after 1:30, checked in to our hotel and had the afternoon off to wonder around town and sightsee. Mid to late afternoon is siesta for shops and businesses where everything shuts down from 2pm until 5pm and later in the day is siesta for bars and restaurants. They close from about 4pm until about 8pm.


Churros con chocolate at Restaurante El Pradon for an afternoon treat. Your typical Spanish bar located across the main highway on Plaza del Rey, 3, 39330 Santillana del Mar, Spain.




Cobblestone streets of Santillana del Mar. Tourist were out shopping at 8pm on Sunday evening.

I would not recommend high or wedge heels on this trip. I brought my IndoSole flip flops and my trainers for walking around the different towns on their uneven streets.



A festival on Sunday night?

Cannons firing every 30 minutes and locals dressed in costumes filled the main square in Santillana. At first I thought it was a big party for the Spain vs Italy football game for Euro 2012, but it seemed a little more 'devil' like festival than 'football' like. I took this picture as we were walking to our dinner at The Villa.

On the Iron Donkey / Iberocycle tour, we had a crew of 15 cyclist from North America and Europe.  Here we are walking into town for dinner. It was a beautiful summer night in Spain.




Our first group dinner was at a lovely restaurant called La Villa on Calle de Jesus Otero, Santillana del Mar, Spain. We had a lager table on the second floor of the restaurant with, I believe, a prix fixe menu. If it wasn't prix fixe, then I think we had a 'menu del dia'. I enjoyed the options and it kept the guess work to a minimum. Wine included! 




Not as crazy as I imagined it would be, watching Spain vs Italy in Spain was uneventful and mellow. We found an almost empty bar after dinner and watched the Spanish crush Italy.

Giro Skyla Women's Bike Helmet - White



More of our crew from the biking tour watching the 2012 Euro soccer match.



Walking back from the bar, we experienced the wildlife of Santillana del Mar.

Roxy Pro Biarritz, France

Roxy Pro Biarritz 2012 Results - perfect day in a beautiful city.

Congrats to Stephanie Gilmore and her 5th world surfing title




Nice to see such a huge movement to Keep The Ocean, Ocean. Check out the Quiksilver site for more information on Quiksilver Foundation Europe and the Sustainable Development Cell



Waiting for the Betty the Shark concert to start



Leeann Curren, daughter of legendary pro surfer Tom Curren, @ Roxy Pro.


Video from my iPhone




Inside the Roxy tent - recycled baseball hats as a Wonder Woman costume.

Roxy So Long Canvas Accessories (Multi)- 0.0 OT



We could have had better weather, but the town was beautiful and easy to walk.



Keep the Ocean, Ocean!



Meet the Roxy Ambassadors:

-- Sally Fitzgibbons

-- Leeann Curren

-- Stephanie Gilmore