What Is It About Art?

San Francisco Landmark #195 Alcazar Theater 650 Geary Street Between Jones and Leavenworth Built 1917 This eclectic Moorish/Byzantine building, commissioned by the Shriners as the Islam Temple , Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of Mystic Shrine , was designed by architect Thomas Patterson Ross . The façade, with Byzantine arches and filigree lattice work, is primarily of ornate polychrome terra cotta with a granite water table . The June 1917 edition of Architect and Engineer noted that the temple was "an adaptation from Alhambra , a building that stands as the highest mark of Arabian art and civilization." The Islam Temple was used for Shriner meetings and ceremonies from 1918 to 1970. Later it functioned as a small theater in the tradition of the original Alcazar Theater which was located on O'Farrell Street. (The original Alcazar opened in 1885, was destroyed by the 1906 Earthquake and Fire , was rebuilt, and was razed for a parking lot in 1963.) (Sou...

The phenomenon of relative deprivation applied to education is called - appropriately enough - the " Big Fish-Little Pond Effect ." The more elite an educational institution is, the worse students feel about their own academic abilities. page. 80 Easy read, but coated with insightful information that anyone can become aware and take action in the best way possible. Author Malcolm Gladwell engages the reader to really take a step back and understand behaviors, actions, and situations where sometimes one may not have control, but actually you do as situations are fully understood. Not. As. It. Seems.

Inferno by Dan Brown My rating: 3 of 5 stars "The soul craves emotion, and it will continue to seek fuel for that emotion - good or bad. Your problem is that you're giving it the wrong fuel." The whole idea of reading a book is to remove oneself from reality and to simply become immersed in the content and story line. What ever emotions come of it, so be it. Although it took me some time to really finish reading this novel, I found it to be quite thought provoking in a sense that even if it's all fiction, there's some truth that is being drawn into the story. The above quote seems to be one that was memorable in my mind. The quote came from a psychiatrist whom Sienna was meeting with to sort her own identity and place in the world. She was very unsure of herself at that time and was seeking how to best contribute to her current status. Today, we all have to sometimes find ourselves even though we "think" we have direction in our life. It can be a paus...

SAN FRANCISCO, January 9, 2017 – The City announces the installation of six large-scale illuminated bamboo lanterns, titled Sui Sui Ping An – Peace All Year Round , by Hong Kong artist Freeman Lau. Organized by the San Francisco Arts Commission in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department and the Asian Art Museum and sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco, the installation commemorates the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and is scheduled to coincide with the Lunar New Year. Sui Sui Ping An – Peace All Year Round , by Hong Kong artist Freeman Lau SOURCE: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/pubart-press-releases/2017/01/09/large-scale-sculptures-will-light-up-civic-center-plaza/

Food. For. Thought. This is not a particularly proud moment for humanity. Divisive narratives, poverty, inequality, injustice, famine, radicalism, war, and human rights violations thrive in countries around the world, while the natural world also suffers because of increasing human carelessness. Read more