Thursday, August 25, 2011

ISLAND CASTAWAYS: TREASURE ISLAND

 

 

ISLAND CASTAWAYS

  • King's Island sits 350 yards from Scottish mainland
  • Island also comes with its own boathouse, observatory and helipad

These are the pictures that estate agents hope will entice a - suitably wealthy - buyer who perhaps wants to get away from it all.

For those tempted by the the isolated home, which stands on its own island off the Scottish coast, will need deep pockets, as 'King's Island' has gone on sale for a cool £3million.

The 260-acre island sits just 350 yards from the coast of west Scotland, and has its own helicopter pad next to the remote four-bedrooms house which has pride of place on the isolated isle.

This boat jetty looking out on to Loch Craignish is one of very few man-made parts of the isle

This boat jetty looking out on to Loch Craignish is one of very few man-made parts of the isle

Ample space: The four bedroom property on the island has extensive garden and driveway space due to its unique location

Ample space: The four bedroom property on the island has extensive garden and driveway space due to its unique location

Although requiring access by boat or helicopter, the 260-acre island is a haven for many forms of wildlife

Although requiring access by boat or helicopter, the 260-acre island is a haven for many forms of wildlife

As well as the four-bedroom house, the island off Loch Craignish comes with a boat house, observatory for gazing at the Northern Lights, and its own helicopter facility.

While King's Island may be the ideal hideaway for a James Bond villain, its abundance of wildlife makes it a perfect purchase for a nature lover.

It is frequently visited by a population of deer that swim over from the mainland and the sheltered waters also attract dolphins, otters, sea eagles and ospreys.

There is an endless supply of salmon and lobsters that the new owner can exclusively fish for.

The island is currently owned by top City trader Christian Siva-Jothy, a former partner in Goldman Sachs, who has modernised the main house.

Room with a view: The owner of the island can look forward to seeing salmon, lobster and other forms of wildife in and around its shores

Room with a view: The owner of the island can look forward to seeing salmon, lobster and other forms of wildife in and around its shores

Spacious: The island also comes with its own boathouse and observatory

Spacious: The island also comes with its own boathouse and observatory

He closed down the $200million business he began after leaving Goldman Sachs and made a stunning confession about his ability to play the market.

Mr Siva-Jothy wrote to investors in his firm SemperMacro: 'In this business, you are only as good as your last few trades.

'Mine have not been very good.  Whether I have lost my edge or simply need a break after 23 years, I am not sure. I certainly hope it’s the latter.'

It is thought his financial misfortune has forced him to sell up.

Previous owners have included Sir Reginald Johnston, a retired tutor to Puyi, the last Chinese emperor, in the 1930s and then a retired Indian army officer.

Ran Morgan, from the estate agents, said: 'The island is stunningly beautiful and surrounded by the most extraordinary land and seascapes.

Isolated: King's Island sits 350 yards from the mainland of west Scotland

Isolated: King's Island sits 350 yards from the mainland of west Scotland

Remote: The four bedroom house on the island provides spectacular views, but little neighbourly contact

Remote: The four bedroom house on the island provides spectacular views, but little neighbourly contact

'It is so peaceful and tranquil yet it only takes 10 minutes to travel by boat to reach the mainland or 25 minutes to fly by helicopter to Glasgow.

'The coastal village of Ardfern is the nearest settlement and has a large marina, supermarket and a thriving school.

'The wildlife is also quite incredible and while the salmon farm just a few yards off the island is privately owned there is nothing to stop you from dropping a rod and line into the water.

'The loch is sheltered and is also a wonderful place for water sports like kayaking and diving.

'This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to live a bit of a Robinson Crusoe-type existence and be at one with nature.'

  • David Glasheen has been living on Restoration Island off the Australian coast for almost 20 years after he lost £6.5 million on the stock market
  • The Supreme Court in Queensland, Australia has ruled that he must vacate the island after failing lease conditions
  • He was required to develop tourist accommodation and fishing facilities as part of his £13,000 per year lease
  • The man in his sixties has lived self-sufficiently with his sole companion, dog Quasi

A man living alone on an island like Robinson Crusoe for almost 20 years faces eviction from his castaway oasis.

The Australian man has been living on tiny Restoration Island off the north-eastern coast of Australia since 1993 after the former high-flying Sydney businessman lost £6.5 million in the 1987 stock market crash.

Living off crabs and coconuts, and connected to solar-powered internet, David Glasheen has enjoyed a life of private tranquillity his dog Quasi, calling himself ‘the luckiest bloke in the world’.

 

On the 12 August 1770, far north on the Great Barrier Reef, Captain James Cook landed on a small palm-fringed island that seemed overrun with fast-moving, long-tailed reptiles. He promptly named his new find Lizard Island.

My reef experience begins in a distinctly lizard-less manner, but that is because it starts in the air, flying to Lizard Island over an endless iridescent blue sea dotted with coral cays.

My arrival on Captain Cook's island is somewhat different too. Instead of a greeting by leathery locals, I am handed a cool glass of champagne by tranquil staff. After all, Cook's hangout is now an exclusive private island and preferred bolthole of Aussie actors Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman.

 Lizard Island

Captain Cook's retreat: Lizard Island was named after its leathery-skinned inhabitants

Apart from garnering A-list approval, the island retains much of the charm from Cook's time. The sand is powder-white, the turquoise sea quietly lapping and the temperatures - when I visit in October - a comfortable 27C.

But of course there is one major change, a rather luxurious - and recently revamped - hotel bathes among the sun-loving lizards.

Suites are dotted just metres from the water's edge, all bright airy spaces and iPod docking stations. But there are no televisions, just in case any guests needing coaxing away from Neighbours and out onto the Great Barrier Reef.

Sharing this luxury cay is the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation, which is owned by the Australian Museum. Hotel guests can visit the research station, which supplies on-reef facilities for coral reef research and education.

I spend my days basking in the sun, occasionally diving or heading to the Cod Hole dive site on Ribbon Reef 10 (an hour’s boat ride away) so I can snorkel with giant sized potato cod, which weigh in at 150kg or more each and can make somewhat scary swimming companions.

Great Barrier Reef

Deep blue: The Great Barrier Reef has plenty to explore under the water's surface

The first thing I see when I hit the water are these huge fish, twice my size, swimming slowly towards me. Their colossal bulk, big bulging lips and rough bodies fascinate me, they are bland in colour when compared to some of the reef’s beautifully bright neon fish, yet they are gentle when hand-fed by our guide.

Alternatively, spoil yourself to a relaxing treatment at the hotels new Azure Spa. Lizard Island is not high brow, it’s low key and intimate, and the staff has a way of making your day special.

Reluctantly I leave the luxuries and personal attention of Lizard Island, and head south to another animal favourite - Heron Island.

David Attenborough stayed here during the filming of the BBC series 'First Life' and described the Island as his top place to stay to see marine wildlife up close.

It is an unpretentious, interactive and educational resort, popular with families looking to explore the reef.

The resort shares the tiny island with The Heron Island Research Station and Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service.

This year, the resort and the Research Station hatched a partnership to provide resort guests with a greater opportunity to learn about and get up close to turtles.

Heron Island

Life of luxury: David Attenborough loved his stay on Heron Island

The Turtle Foundation staff and trained resort workers have teamed up to take guests on guided tours of the foundation’s facilities and accompany guests on night beach walks to observe turtles nesting and hatching.

I head to the beach with Turtle Foundation director Tim Harvey. We spot a female Green turtle scraping her way over old coral; she’s ill equipped for such obstacles, yet she drags herself up the beach until she finds a suitable nesting place.

Slowly, she digs a foot-deep pit and releases her eggs. Tim explains that at this stage turtles go into a sort of trance and are unaware we are there.

A popular treat fro visitors on Heron Island is to indulge in a two-night break on nearby Wilson Island.

This Robinson Crusoe-style retreat is all barefoot luxury and barefoot luxury and attentive staff. Accommodation is in six luxury tents, the food is gourmet and there is a 24-hour open bar.

The tiny island (it took me 10 minutes to walk around it at low tide) sits in a World Heritage area, there is minimal electricity and a generator and solar power provide power for cooking and to charge battery operated room lamps. Thankfully, there are no phones, no TVs and no mod cons.

The island is big on conservation, eco-tourism and protection of the island and reef. Whatever comes to the island leaves the island.

Turtle on Heron Island

Meet the locals: Turtles drag themselves up onto the beach to lay their eggs under cover of darkness

Guests can eat together around a large table in the Long House. In the evenings we dine on delicious three-course meals and share stories of our reef adventures. Guests can also fish and cook their own catch for lunch or dinner.

I spend my days in the water, snorkeling on the reef, all it takes is a few steps into the sea and suddenly I am swimming with turtles, small reef sharks and a multitude of bright neon fish.

Late at night, under cover of darkness, I wield my turtle-spotting skills learnt on Heron Island and head to the beach down a narrow sandy path. En-route I encounter howling Mutton Birds, underground dwelling creatures that seasonally visit the island to nest. At night, the birds leave their burrows and stay up all night creating a loud haunting howl that sends shivers down your spine.

The sandy beach path turns a corner and I almost fall over an enormous Green turtle that is digging her nest in the middle of the path. Soon, I spot another turtle making her way up the beach in search of a soft damp sand to nest in.

Within half an hour, over 20 turtles have dragged themselves up the beach to lay their clutch of eggs. It was an amazing experience and one that will stay with me forever. I spend all night on the beach watching the turtles. It is this kind of experience that makes the Great Barrier Reef such a pull for nature-lovers.

And it seems there is an island for everyone, no matter how deep your pockets.

 

 

Australian Robinson Crusoe: Voluntary castaway David Glasheen has been living as a recluse on a small island off the Australian coast for almost 20 years with his dog Quasi but the island's directors are trying to evict him

Australian Robinson Crusoe: Voluntary castaway David Glasheen has been living as a recluse on a small island off the Australian coast for almost 20 years with his dog Quasi but the island's directors are trying to evict him

But the Queensland government is trying to evict the voluntary castaway, in his sixties, after he failed to build a resort on the 1.53ha island, a condition of the lease which allowed him access to the land.

The Queensland Supreme Court recently ruled that the land should be repossessed and that he and his business partners are ‘trespassers’.

Living a reclusive life, Glasheen learnt to be self-sufficient, growing vegetables and brewing his own beer. He also still trades stocks using an online trading account.

He said: ‘You soon learn in the bush to survive. If you don’t you die pretty quickly.

‘It is a fabulous place, I am a lucky bloke to be there.

Lonely in love: Using his solar-powered internet connection Glasheen tried internet dating to find his 'Girl Friday' to live with him, using a mannequin to publicise his plight but had no luck

Lonely in love: Using his solar-powered internet connection Glasheen tried internet dating to find his 'Girl Friday' to live with him, using a mannequin to publicise his plight but had no luck

'Luckiest bloke in the world': Glasheen loves living on the island, catching fish and crabs, growing vegetables and brewing his own beer to survive

'Luckiest bloke in the world': Glasheen loves living on the island, catching fish and crabs, growing vegetables and brewing his own beer to survive

Broke island lease: The government has ruled that Glasheen must vacate Restoration Island, a 1.52ha oasis, having failed to build tourist accommodation and fishing facilities, a condition of his lease

Broke island lease: The government has ruled that Glasheen must vacate Restoration Island, a 1.52ha oasis, having failed to build tourist accommodation and fishing facilities, a condition of his lease

'I have learnt a huge amount. I started to value what is really important. Trust, honesty, respect - simple things.

'I have learnt that you can do things with very little.'

While he loves his life in paradise, Glasheen does get lonely and several years ago tried internet dating to find ‘Girl Friday’ to live with him. He got hundreds of responses but had no luck in love.

Glasheen said: ‘It gets lonely out here.

‘My only hope is for a mermaid to turn up on the beach.’

A girlfriend had initially moved to the island, 1,500 miles from Queensland capital Brisbane, with Glasheen but found life there too difficult.

He is visited occasionally by passing yachtsmen, kayakers and groups of organic farmers.

Few visitors: Glasheen says sometimes he gets lonely with his dog his only companion but he is occasionally visited by passing yachtsmen, kayakers and organic farmers

Few visitors: Glasheen says sometimes he gets lonely with his dog his only companion but he is occasionally visited by passing yachtsmen, kayakers and organic farmers

Must vacate: The island's directors have been trying to evict Glasheen since 2000 and he says that he has 'no idea' what he will do if he has to move from the island he has been living on for almost 20 years

Must vacate: The island's directors have been trying to evict Glasheen since 2000 and he says that he has 'no idea' what he will do if he has to move from the island he has been living on for almost 20 years

Australian oasis: Restoration Island is 1,500 miles from Queensland capital Brisbane and was named because Captain William Bligh found essential supplies were there that had been set adrift by mutineers on HMS Bounty

Australian oasis: Restoration Island is 1,500 miles from Queensland capital Brisbane and was named because Captain William Bligh found essential supplies were there that had been set adrift by mutineers on HMS Bounty

Glasheen leased one third of the island from the Australian Government for £13,000 a year on behalf of Restoration Island Priory Ltd.

The 43-year lease which allowed Glasheen required him and a business partner to develop fishing facilities and tourist accommodation valued at a minimum of £131,000 on the island, a condition which they failed to do.

A Supreme Court judgement said the island’s directors had been trying to get Glasheen to vacate the island since 2000.

The court said: ‘The defendants have wrongly deprived the plaintiff of its asset for over a decade during which time they have enjoyed its benefits.

Glasheen is considering appealing the decision.

Asked what he will do if he is forced to leave his island home he said: ‘I have no idea. I live on now. Tomorrow I might be dead.’

Restoration Island was named after Captain William Bligh found essential supplies that had been set adrift by mutineers of the HMS Bounty.

Survival skills: The picturesque island has taught Glasheen bush survival skills because 'if you don't (learn them) you die pretty quickly' he said

Survival skills: The picturesque island has taught Glasheen bush survival skills because 'if you don't (learn them) you die pretty quickly' he said

Sunday, January 2, 2011

THE EXCITING SIXTIES

 

 

A half-century ago, much of the world was in a broad state of change: We were moving out of the post-World War II era, and into both the Cold War and the Space Age, with broadening civil rights movements and anti-nuclear protests in the U.S. In 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space, Freedom Riders took buses into the South to bravely challenge segregation, and East Germany began construction of the Berlin Wall. That year, Kennedy gave the okay to the disastrous Bay of Pigs Invasion into Cuba and committed the U.S. to "landing a man on the Moon" with NASA's Apollo program. JFK also oversaw the early buildup of a U.S. military presence in Vietnam: by the end of 1961, some 2,000 troops were deployed there. Let me take you 50 years into the past now, for a look at the world as it was in the exciting sixties.

Astronaut Alan Shepard, at left, receives a medal from President John F. Kennedy, with fellow astronauts and Vice President Lyndon Johnson looking on in Washington, D.C. in 1961. (AP photo) #

 

 
 

The decade saw the Vietnam War, the gradual relaxation in the social structures governing morals, took a step further as millions of woman tossed out their bras. The hippies sought to depart from materialism by creating what came to be known as the anti-fashion and counter culture movement. The Sixties was a decade of Liberation and Revolution, a time of personal journeys and fiery protests. It transcended all national borders and changed the world. People, young and old, united in opposition to the existing dictates of society. Poignant was the death of JFK. The Beatles were a pick up happy energy then. Finishing ChE and dreams to go to America made a big difference of what I want to be later on. Against that was the temptations of an open society, unlike that of the country I left behind. With all these temptations meant to disorient, I survived this decade remained focused on studies, work and the family. After looking back I have but one wish now, just send me back to the sixties, where I made my future.

The lasting impact of the "hippies" was related to their political involvement, their demand for equal treatment of all races, their embracing of the feminist movement, their compassion for the indiginous and downtrodden people of the world, their early acceptance of homosexuality, their rejection of consumer culture, and their demand for a deeper understanding of man's place in the world. These hippies did not drop out. They changed american society in lasting and substantial ways.  To falsely associate Leary and his idiotic catchphrase with the entire 60s' movement is at best a false dichotomy and at worst the result of a carefully crafted mainstream media propaganda campaign.  

The era like the 60s, can never be repeated again. I miss the adventure and attempts to capture the anticipation of something great to happen. I appreciate the people in my life that made it special in those days. Around me, an inner peace exist with the hippies, there was something special to live without the constraints of time. To wake up each day and decide what would be the most fun to do that day or just find out as it went along. They go with the flow, follow the bliss, be here now. This was in complete opposition to the culture from which I came. They wanted new ways to value one another, rather than by wealth, status, looks, achievements, machismo, as our culture of origin had taught us, and continues to teach us through the media. They wanted to value one another for being lovable and real. Also a spirituality that actually caused you to grow as a person, not one in which people attended religious gatherings for social status and to be guided by their own Inner Spirits, rather than by priests.

Berkeley-Oakland City, Calif. demonstraters march against the war in Vietnam. Calif. (AP Photo). For me, San Francisco was a magical place that I heard of only through rumor. Friends, or friends of friends, would return to our small, conservative Fort Bonifacio enclave with their stories about the happening and from my cousins, who lived in the hills of Marin County, of the Haight-Ashbury, flower children. Immigrating to San Francisco, was first in my mind and it could offer a chance for a new beginning, to be completely independent, and an opportunity to witness firsthand the peace and love movement that was sweeping America.  When youth counterculture rose into the mainstream and popular music expanded into previously unimagined realms in the latter half of the 60s, San Francisco was undeniably one of the most important epicenters of change. The city's history with the Renaissance poets, the Beats, and a vibrant folk scene left it in a good position to serve as a cultural engine, and the ignition of the San Francisco Sound came from dozens of sources, from Bob Dylan, Paul Butterfield, and the British Invasion to UC-Berkeley's 1964 Free Speech Movement, the evolution of freeform FM radio, and the proliferation of hallucinogenic drugs. By 1967, San Francisco was the most psychedelic city in America, if not the world.
 
We have uncertainties about the future, the world was unstable enough, and to live life to the fullest, I have to start a family. In addition to the Vietnam War the United States was being rocked by the Civil Rights Movement and riots in the streets. Western Europe was experiencing a wave of domestic terrorist groups. The Middle East was in turmoil over the Six Day War. Czechoslovakia had tried to liberalize their Communist government and been invaded by Russia. This was the height of the Cold War and the United States and the Soviet Union were nose to nose armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons. There was a lot going on in addition to the Cultural Revolution and Vietnam War.

1960: The picture is indeed Jones bridge going down to what was then Rosario St and is now Paredes St.  When you go down the bridge, you reach the first picture.  I still  remember this place because the RCA building which you can still see in the picture, is where my granduncle used to work.  Across this building was what used to be La Estrella del Norte (the jewelry story on the corner of Escolta) and is now Savory Restaurant...Sheila

 Final Glimpse of Manila. Mapua extreme upper right. UP Prep High, bottom right. A City Hall  the dominant motif (remember that the pre-war City Hall was almost razed to the ground)…this tower-like building will command views of Manila Bay, the Botanical Gardens, the surrounding districts of Manila, including the mountains of Cavite, Corregidor, Mariveles and Bataan, Banahaw, and Makiling.” The air in Manila back then must have really been pollution-free for these views to be possible.

The 10 years metamorphosis
The decade that shaped our lives: I started the 1960’s as a junior at the University of the Philippines. There, I became aware of my family's heritage and began preparation for entry at Fort Del Pilar (PMA), a military academy located in Bagiuo named after my granduncle. That was a period in my teen years in High School that I remember fondly. Those youthful days, a young lad of 14, very impressionable and eager to follow the footsteps of my ancestors. I remember the hectic times, dashing thru the corridors catching my schedule of classes at Rizal Hall, my bag loaded with books, eager, wide eyed, and quick to learn the tenets of math, and the sciences. After UP Prep’s high standard curriculum, passing the entrance exam to the academy was a breeze. If everything else pushed into fruition, there is a backup plan B. Temporary enrollment at MIT and then appointment to the cadet corps at the academy was the plan. However, my 20/30 eyesight failed the standards.

I remember my tepid dedication to my new course in Chemical Engineering, passing was enough. I recall the loves, my only solace for past failures, the friends and stormy situations that most teenagers weathered through. As in life surviving the cards you are dealt with, the unspoken pecking order among bigger classmates and the so called in crowd was the rule. That lone wolf streak that kept me apart, which peers seemed to see as a weakness was a measure of my family's heritage and that set me off from the teenage precepts of the times. It did form that certain pioneer spirit, and later when of age, after grad school, having ever spurred curiosity, like my forefathers, aspired a life of adventure and Public Service….

 

Early 1960: Intramuros to your left,  Post Office in distance, Manila City Hall on the right.

 
 


I would be remiss if I do not mention my favorite swimming hole in Tanay, Daranak Falls. Remembering fondly, cherishing memories of early summer vacations spent at this place. This 14-meter high falls is truly a refreshing site. A short walk over the top of Daranak are smaller, cascading streams known as Batlag Falls. It is located at Bgy. Tandang Kutyo in the town of Tanay. The place has been transformed into a public park/resort operated by the government.


Muse APO DELTA 1966

Dewey Blvd below: The jetty potruding to Manila Bay is the future Cultural Center, on the other side of Dewey is the Manila Naval Station (MNS) where we lived from 1965 to 1966. the headquarters of the Philippine Navy was relegated to a small block of land south of the Manila Yacht Club. The original plan was to reclaim the site of the cultural center(CC) to replace the location of the MNS by the Central Bank. Imelda Marcos, saw this valuable real state and confiscated the plan for her project the now CC. The yacht club remained, the Navy base (MNS) was transferred to Fort Bonifacio.

 

 

Sept. 1966: The Brothers Alpha Phi Omega (APO) Fraternity of the Delta Chapter Philippines circa 1966, from L # 3 - kneeling, me, my back Cesar Frias ChE68, 4-kneeling, Warlito Boquiren ChE66, his back, Jose Catibog ChE66, Advisor Prof. Sevilla and daughter. Standing on the far left the brother of Rosalina Corbett. More than 350,000 members have joined Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity since it's founding, at 366 college campuses here in the US alone, not counting other countries. Our mission is to prepare campus and community leaders through service. Our purpose is to develop leadership, to promote friendship and to provide service to humanity....... 

  

Looking up Powell St. from Market St. The canteen at Woolworth on your right, served me well at lunch. During my job search, the hills of San Francisco was a hindrance. I think my overdeveloped legs were the outcome of the constant walking in SF. The Filipino community has grown remarkably since World War II and has spread to all areas of the city, especially the South of Market area. The affluent Castro district (technically Eureka Valley near Twin Peaks) has attracted gays and lesbians from throughout the country, becoming perhaps the most famous gay neighbourhood in the world. Its streets are adorned with elegantly restored Victorian homes and landmarks highlighting significant dates in the struggle for gay rights. It is said that no local politician can win an election without the gay community's vote.  

Dropping down California St. Fabled hills, were the scourge of the handicap, nowhere in any city but San Francisco, where wheel chairs are absent...my own observation. I remember there were so many people coming in for the Peace March, we wondered around listening to the sounds of the bands warming up at the Union Square. The guitars faded in and out like the morning fog that drifted in and out on the breeze off the bay. Again, there was the thick smell of incense and marijuana, but there was something else in the atmosphere as well: the air was glowing electric with excitement and anticipation. Everyone felt that we were about to be part of something really big.





The girls of St. Theresa, the innocence of the young ladies above, untouched by the sixties youth revolution remained in my mind.  Why someday, one of them will be my partner in life.


We wanted to see life without violence. We wanted media that contained truth. Some of us risked our lives to find out what the government was doing and let the underground press know. We wanted to talk about things in print that we were not allowed to discuss in our culture of origin. We wanted to live without stupid, arbitrary rules, either for ourselves or for our children. Some of our children, as adults today, say they wish we had been more protective of them, or offered more structure.It was a moment in history when a mushroom explosion of consciousness began altering the life force. Through that explosion, we broke down the prison walls of "intellect as the ultimate".  We focused on the heart, and by doing so, reopened our cookie jar of possibilities·politically, socially, sexually and spiritually. The effects of that explosion have permeated our culture. We, as a generation, have a responsibility to see that the 60's are remembered in the context in which they unfolded."

 


 

 

"That sense of freedom had a place and I don't think you can blame the Sixties for what we are like nowadays. "I think that is an excuse for the way things are now and you can't make excuses."Some things may have got out of hand, but it was a time when people became more liberated."It is not true to say it was a time of hedonism. It is not excessive to say that."We were involved where the next generation is headed and we had some patriotic people leading us and we had ideas how to stop government excesses. The Sixties had a lot to offer."

 

File:SF From Marin Highlands3.jpg

    photo

    Golden Gate Bridge from Marshall Beach. San Francisco is one of the few truly unique cities in the United States. It could not possibly be mistaken for another city, and its position on the West Coast at the dramatic mouth of a bay gives it an aura unlike any other place I've been. Its hilly topography alone sets it apart, but from its roots as a Spanish mission to the boom of the Gold Rush, right through the mid-20th century San Francisco Renaissance and 1967's Summer of Love, the city has attracted a mix of people that's kept alive a certain frontier spirit that persisted long after it became one of the country's largest urban centers.
     

    Destination San Francisco. "If you're going to San Francisco,be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...If you're going to San Francisco, Summertime will be a love-in there" I remember my first walk/day here in the US.  I came over in the late sixties, and was somewhat aware of the scenes, mostly was involved in search of a job. Funny, when we look back, we think, we squandered the times of our life when our hormones were in tune with our desires. I was single then, going to school in San Francisco and also at the California State University in Sacramento, during those days really experienced the happening, although a little bit subdued due to work in the day time. That song forever imprinted in my mind "San Francisco" it became an instant hit  and quickly transcended its original purpose by popularizing an idealized image of San Francisco. As the memories flicker down the memory lane, I wish to live back in the sixties with the images of the hills over the bay frozen in time....ASC

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Sixties

     

     

    Let's get going: Day one of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival kicks off with some exotic dancing in the Sahara Tent

    Flower power: A trio of fans brighten up the proceedings in Indio, California

    Flower power:

     

    Crowd surfing: A woman is gets lifted up during the Strokes's performance

     

    Wet and wild: Fans get hosed down as the party front row

    Bright on: Shiny wigs, tiny tops and peace signs - the spirit of Coachella

     

    coachella

    Woodstock

     

    Cool down, boys: The crowd get hosed by revelers on the final day of the red hot festival

     

    coachella

    coachella

    The sun goes down, the temperatures stay up: At least that's what the expression on the face of the guy with the girl on his shoulders seems to be saying

    Miles of smiles: The temperature warm up as the festival wore on, but even on day two things were getting pretty steamy

     

     

    1966 Fox Plaza, it stands on the site of the former Fox Theatre, demolished in 1963. I remember  walking thru Van Ness and Market St. the strong winds of San Francisco magnified like a wind tunnel. It Acts like a sail, that many times my hat blew away. My recollection about this building were all positive, all the five years of my stay in Highway design and Urban Planning. The first twelve floors contain office space. Unlike many buildings, Fox Plaza has a 13th floor actually labeled "13", although this floor is the service floor and is not rented out. The 14th floor contains a gymnasium and laundry facilities as well as apartments, while floors 15 through 29 are exclusively rental apartments. The main attraction during coffee break was the fashion show atmosphere of beautiful young ladies well chosen by private companies at Fox Plaza to the delight of bachelors like us.

     

     MEANWHILE THE NEWS AROUND THE WORLD IN THIS ERA

     

     

    John F. Kennedy speaks for the first time as President of the United States in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 1961, during the inaugural ceremonies. (AP Photo)

     

     

    2

    Singer Bobby Darin stands beside a hand-made automobile called the "Bobby Darin Dream Car," unveiled on March 31, 1961, in Hollywood, California. Owner Andrew Di Dia, who designed and built the $150,000 car, will take it on a nationwide tour. (AP Photo) #

    3

    Canon John Collins of St. Paul's Cathedral, a leading figure in the campaign for nuclear disarmament which organized the two ban-the-bomb marches over the Easter holiday, addresses a mass protest rally in London's Trafalgar Square on April 3, 1961, after the marchers had converged on central London from Aldermaston and Wethersfield. (AP Photo/Staff/PRI) #

    4

    Kennith Gelpey wears protective clothing as he emerges from a fallout shelter in Medford, Massachusetts, on October 23, 1961, with a geiger counter in hand to "test for radiation". Gelpey and his family spent the weekend in the shelter to test their equipment. (AP Photo) #

    5

    A tightly clutched Madonna and eyes filled with tears tell the story as an African-American girl is whisked away from the University of Georgia campus in a state patrol car, on January 12, 1961. Charlayne Hunter, 18, who started classes at the school on Tuesday under federal order, was withdrawn last night for her own protection when students staged an uprising against the integration. (AP Photo/Horace Cort) #

    6

    Soviet cosmonaut Major Yuri Gagarin (right), shakes hand with Leonid Ilich Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, after the Soviet statesman awarded Gagarin the Order of Lenin and a Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union for his achievements in becoming the first man in history to travel in space. (AFP/Getty Images) #

    7

    Mike Hailwood, 21, of Oxford, is shown at speed on his Norton motorcycle in the 226-mile Senior International Tourist Trophy Race on the mountain course in the Isle of Man, United Kingdom, on June 16, 1961. He won the six-lap race at an average speed of 100.6 miles an hour, making T.T. history by winning three races in a week. (AP Photo) #

    8

    Police and secret service struggle in vain to free President elect John F. Kennedy (center) from a surging mass of Harvard students in Harvard yard in Cambridge, on January 9, 1961. Kennedy, normally a fast mover, was halted in his tracks when students broke through police barrier. He had to take refuge in a dormitory until police could bring a car to get him out. (AP Photo) #

    9

    Not a car is visible on Malecon Drive in Havana, Cuba, a street well-known to American tourists in former days, as Fidel Castro's forces take over, using it for defense purposes. A single rifle-toting militiaman walks along the drive in Havana, on January 6, 1961, from which all normal traffic was diverted. (AP Photo) #

    10

    Fidel Castro sits in a tank during the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April of 1961. Some 1,300 Cuban exiles, backed by the U.S. Government, invaded the island nation of Cuba, attempting to overthrow the government of the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. The invasion failed disastrously, with 90 of the invaders killed, and the rest captured within 3 days. (OAH/AFP/Getty Images) #

    11

    Hangars which had been darkened during a strike by airline flight engineers are lighted at Chicago's Midway airport on February 23, 1961, as TWA planes are wheeled out to be prepared for resumption of service. The end of a wildcat walkout against seven airlines was announced in Washington, D.C. by President Kennedy. (AP Photo/EM) #

    12

    A giant electrified model of the human brain's control system is demonstrated by Dr. A.G. Macleod, at the meeting of the American Medical Association in New York, on June 26, 1961. The maze of twisting tubes and blinking lights traces the way the brain receives information and turns it into thought and then action. (AP Photo) #

    13

    An unidentified student demonstrator is choked by two policemen in Tokyo, Japan, on June 8, 1961, during a clash when police tried to disperse student demonstrators protesting against a controversial anti-political violence bill near the parliament building. Over 10,000 unionists and students took part in the massive demonstration marked by the screaming, rock-throwing and club-swinging clash between the students and policemen. (AP Photo) #

    14

    Jean Lloyd, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, lost control of her Stanguellini sports car and rolled over in first lap of a 20-lap formula junior race at the Sebring Airport on March 24, 1961 in Sebring. She was not hurt seriously and walked away from the accident. (AP Photo) #

    15

    Freedom riders stand at ticket counter of the bus station in Montgomery, Alabama, on May 24, 1961, as they purchase tickets to continue their ride through the south. At center is integration leader Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (AP Photo) #

    16

    One of the Freedom Riders being arrested 1961. (AP Photo) #

    17

    A Freedom Rider bus goes up in flames after a firebomb was tossed through a window near Anniston, Alabama, in May of 1961. (AP Photo/File) #

    18

    A policeman orders his dog to attack an African-American who was too slow in obeying his order to move away from in front of police court, shortly before nine African-American college students went on trial for sitting-in at a white city library, on March 29, 1961, in Jackson, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Jackson Clarion-Ledger) #

    19

    George Lincoln Rockwell, center, self-styled leader of the American Nazi Party, and his "hate bus" with several young men wearing swastika arm bands, stops for gas in Montgomery, Alabama, on May 23, 1961, en route to Mobile, Alabama. (AP Photo) #

    20

    Moments before photographer Tommy Langston was attacked on May 14, 1961, he shot this single photo of Klansmen attacking a Freedom Rider at the Trailways Bus Station in Birmingham, Alabama. The photo helped identify Klansmen involved in the assault. (AP Photo/Birmingham Post-Herald, Tommy Langston) #

    21

    National Guard troops enforcing martial law work out with bayonets and gas masks as they go through training maneuvers at Fort Dixie Graves in Montgomery, Alabama, on May 3, 1961. (AP Photo/Horace Cort) #

    22

    A Jackson Police Department file booking photograph of Freedom Rider Joan Trumpauer provided by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, taken on June 8, 1961. 19-year-old Duke University student and part-time secretary in the Washington office of Senator Clair Engle of California, Trumpauer arrived in Jackson, Mississippi to take part in the June 4, 1961 Mississippi Freedom Ride. She and eight others were promptly arrested and refused bail. Trumpauer served three months in jail, later enrolling in traditionally black Tougaloo college, which had just started accepting white students. (AP Photo/Mississippi Department of Archives and History, City of Jackson, File) #

    23

    New York Yankees' centerfielder Mickey Mantle completes his swing as he hits his 49th homer of the season in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium, New York, September 3, 1961. (AP Photo/stf) #

    24

    Caption from 1961: TV viewers of the 1970s will see their programs on sets quite different from today's, if designs now being worked out are developed. At the Home Furnishings Market in Chicago, Illinois, on June 21, 1961, a thin TV screen is a feature of this design model. Another feature is an automatic timing device which would record TV programs during the viewers' absence to be played back later. The 32x22-inch color screen is four inches thick. (AP Photo/Edward Kitch) #

    25

    In Seattle, Washington, the Space Needle is under construction in 1961, as the city prepares for the upcoming 1962 World's Fair. (CC-BY Seattle Municipal Archives) #

    26

    Argentinean Alex Mitoff reels under from an attack by Cassius Clay in the sixth round of a televised boxing match from Louisville, Kentucky, on October 7, 1961. Mitoff was unable to continue the fight and a technical knockout was called one minute 45 seconds in the sixth round. (AP Photo/H.B. Littell) #

    27

    Space suit worn by Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., is given final testing in Cape Canaveral, on May 5, 1961 before Shepard donned it for America's first manned rocket flight. (AP Photo) #

    28

    Ham the chimp in his capsule during his space flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida in early 1961. Ham was the first chimpanzee launched into outer space in the American space program. Ham's capsule splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean, after a flight of 16 minutes and 39 seconds. (AP Photo) #

    29

    NASA's Project LOLA or Lunar Orbit and Landing Approach was a simulator built at Langley to study problems related to landing on the lunar surface. It was a complex project that cost nearly $2 million dollars. This simulator was designed to provide a pilot with a detailed visual encounter with the lunar surface; the machine consisted primarily of a cockpit, a closed-circuit TV system, and four large murals or scale models representing portions of the lunar surface as seen from various altitudes. The pilot in the cockpit moved along a track past these murals which would accustom him to the visual cues for controlling a spacecraft in the vicinity of the moon. (NASA) #

    30

    Ocean rescue, as a helicopter lifts NASA astronaut Alan Shepard from the water in May of 1961. (AP Photo) #

    31

    Adolf Eichmann stands in his glass cage, flanked by guards, in the Jerusalem courtroom where he was tried in 1961 for war crimes committed during World War II. After his kidnapping by Israeli Mossad agents in Argentina, Eichmann was tried and convicted of all 15 charges against him including crimes against humanity, and was executed on May 31, 1962. (AP Photo) #

    32

    A mob surrounds flaming auto belonging to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt on February 15, 1961, after setting it on fire during protest of death of Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo. After a power struggle and a military coup, Lumumba was killed by firing squad -- an act many believe was committed with the assistance of the government of the United States and for which the Belgian government officially apologized in 2002. (AP Photo) #

    33

    The Japanese ultra-nationalists held their "Patriotic Day" in Tokyo on May 1, 1961, while a record 1,560,000 workers observed the annual May Day celebration throughout the country. Rightists held a rally at Hibiya Park, demonstrating with swastika banner and calling for the dissolution of the Socialist Party. (AP Photo/Mitsunori Chigita/Nobuyuki Masaki) #

    34

    The fellows at Homan Hall, Fresno State College's men's dormitory, claim a world record for stacking 73 people on a dormitory bed, on May 17,1961 in Fresno, California, This photo was taken prior to topping the pile with five girls to break the record. (AP Photo) #

    35

    An American Apache Indian kneels down to kiss the hand of Pope John XXIII (Angelo Guiseppe Roncalli) during an audience of the Apache delegation at the Vatican in Rome, Italy, May 16, 1961. (AP Photo) #

    36

    Actress Marilyn Monroe, as captured by photographer Len Steckler in December of 1961. (AP PhotoPRNewsFoto/Eagle National Mint) #

    37

    A dog sits in the middle of an empty Times Square during 10-minute civil defense test air raid alert in New York, on April 28, 1961. Besides the dog, only police are visible in the usually bustling area. (AP Photo/Bob Goldberg) #

    38

    U.S. President John F. Kennedy points to a map of Laos during a press conference in Washington, on March 1961, as he states that the communist threat to Laos is "difficult and potentially dangerous". (STF/AFP/Getty Images) #

    39

    In this May 1961 dated photo from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, distributed by Korea News Service, leader Kim Il Sung is seen together with orphans. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP Images) #

    40

    American soldiers of the United Nations Command and North Korean communist guards mix it up following a meeting of the joint Military Armistice commission at Panmunjom, Korea on April 23, 1961. A brief fistfight broke out after one of the North Koreans slapped the face of Pfc. John Clark of Jacksonville, Florida, At extreme left is Capt. William Lyons, of Lubbock, Texas, who joined the fight. (AP Photo) #

    41

    An East German worker lays some of the first stone blocks of the Berlin Wall in August of 1961, shortly after the border between East and West Berlin was sealed. (AP Photo) #

    42

    East German workers assemble a wall of concrete blocks in the French sector of East Berlin, on August 15, 1961. An East German soldier at the border between East and West Berliners on duty at right. Signs indicate end of the French zone in the city. (AP Photo/Worth) #

    43

    A refugee from the German Democratic Republic (DDR) is seen during his attempt to escape from the East German part of Berlin to West Berlin by climbing over the Berlin Wall on October 16, 1961. (AP Photo) #

    44

    A U.S. tank takes position at Zimmerstrasse at the sector border in Berlin, Germany in 1961, pointing towards Soviet tanks across the border in East Berlin. (AP Photo) #

    45

    First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, at work in 1961. (AFP/Getty Images) #

    46

    Astronaut Alan Shepard, at left, receives a medal from President John F. Kennedy, with fellow astronauts and Vice President Lyndon Johnson looking on in Washington, D.C. in 1961. (AP photo) #

    Captured: John Lennon

    21

    Despite a constant din of screaming teenagers, the Beatles successfully opened their U.S. tour in San Francisco on August 20, 1964. From left to right are Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon. Ringo Starr cannot be seen. (AP Photo) #

    Captured: John Lennon

    22

    With some of their fans in the background, The Beatles board a plane for England at New York Airport, NY, Sept. 21, 1964. From bottom of ladder, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison. (AP Photo) #

    Captured: John Lennon

    24

    Beatle John Lennon is shown in this 1965 photo at an unknown location. (AP Photo) #

    Captured: John Lennon

    25

    Beatles John Lennon continues to play the guitar as he evades a young fan who wants Lennon's yachting-style cap as a souvenir during the Beatles concert in Rome, Italy, June 28, 1965. (AP Photo) #

    Captured: John Lennon

    26
    British rock and roll singer John Lennon of the Beatles arrives in an armored car before a concert in Houston, Tex., on Aug. 19, 1965. Screaming fans surrounded the group from the moment their plane arrived in Houston for radio station KILT's "Back to School Show" at Sam Houston Coliseum. (AP Photo/Ferd Kaufman)
    #

    Captured: Vietnam and the 35th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon

    47

    Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, atop a camel, enchants the ancient sphinx and pyramids at Giza, near Cairo, Egypt, on January 28, 1961. His wife Lucille, lower left, records the scene on film. The Armstrongs are on a U.S. State Department-sponsored Goodwill Tour of Africa and the Middle East. (AP Photo) #

    48

    Billy Stanley, 8-year-old third-grader, the only white pupil at St. Philip the Apostle's school in Albany, New York, studies with African-American friends. Billy says he likes school, and that the other pupils "treat me good." Photo taken on September 19, 1961. (AP Photo) #

    49

    Wilma Rudolph of Clarksville, Tennessee, holds flowers and medals presented to her after two victories in the U.S.-Russia track and field meet in Moscow, Russia on July 15, 1961. Rudolph equaled the world record of 0:11.3 in winning the women's 100-meter dash and then anchored the women's 400-meter relay team as it set a new world record of 0:44.3. (AP Photo) #

    50

    Light machine gun crew and riflemen, members of the Republic of Vietnam Marine Corps, secure their position somewhere in Vietnam, on January 20, 1961. Charged with fighting guerrilla bands in the Vietnam countryside, the marines are similar to their American counterparts. They use American weapons and their training methods developed by the U.S. Marines. Many Vietnamese Marine officers have trained at the U.S. Marine corps camp at Quantico, Virginia. (AP Photo) #