Ocean Beach

   This is exactly how I like the beach; empty, except for me.
   I can't recall why I seemed to be the only person here when I took this picture, as it was quite clear (no fog), which usually signifies warmer temperatures and more people than when it's windy and cool, which is the norm here. It was probably early on a Friday morning, and I'm guessing that it wasn't as comfortable as it appears below, although I don't recall the weather specifics. I like it when it's cool and a bit windy in the western part of San Francisco, because those conditions generally keep people away from the beach who don't go regularly, and also usually means that there are foggy conditions, conditions which I find beautiful and a bit mysterious, and have written about previously in this blog.
   The expansiveness of the horizon (where my eyes convince me that the sky meets the ocean), and seeing the sandy beach stretch off into the distance, makes me feel like less confined by the world I live in.

Graffiti

   I took this picture yesterday during my morning walk around Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. I had seen this graffiti the day before, and was both bothered and interested by it, though mostly bothered. The graffiti covered an area of the northeast section of the lake, and was sprayed on a concrete curb, some wood logs which enclose a small garden area (visible partially on the left side of the picture), and on the bench seen below. I find it incredible that someone would choose such a beautiful, peaceful place to 'tag', but also know the feeling of being clouded as to how my actions might affect others. On one particular area the words "high as fuck" can be seen; I find this statement both telling and informative.

   The interest that I find in the graffiti, and the reason why I took some pictures there and am writing this blog entry, is in the meeting space of this very personal act of defacement and the very green place where it occurred. I find something beautiful in the feel of these two seemingly contradictory acts of creation (Stow Lake  and Golden Gate Park where very much created, built many years ago on very un-green sand dunes). Although the graffiti seems at first to be out of place (maybe because it is new to the area), on second thought its' status changes; it's not as if it belongs there, but more like it doesn't not belong there.

   In the picture below, the writing seems so perfectly placed, so correct, it's as if it is describing the scene beyond it.