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Walking around campus on a Friday reveals things that one would normally not know happen. I’m talking about the activities around the Cesar Chavez Student Centre, the hub of all activities at SF State.

I had helped my broadcasting student take some B-roll for her news package and decided to walk around and see what else goes on when I’m not at work or in class. That’s when I saw an interesting-looking table with familiar-looking signs.

“Hello, want to try and see how well you know your recyclable products?” Not a good way to attract a large crowd to your stand, but winning anything will be a nice way to start a weekend.

“Sure I’ll try.” I got talking to the lady behind the table and she was a member of a campus group called SF Environment.

For those who don’t know or have heard about this club is, they are responsible promoting sustainability on campus. Their main aim is to help people understand the importance of recycling especially on campus and promote awareness about sustainability practices.

Andrew, a Broadcasting Major at SF State talking about Recycling and Sustainability

If you’ve ever been at Student Centre at any given time, you’ll see people sitting next to the bins. It’s not because they like sitting there, but they volunteer their time to help those having problems disposing their trash in the right bin.

Everyone should attempt to recyle. I like how the salad bar has now labeled the containers: compost, recycle (and even added 25 cent right next to the plastic)...so that does mean if you use the plastic, your salad combo will cost 25 cents more?

Andrew, gives his opinion on what he believes is an effective way of getting people to recycle.

I did win a cute red cup from Taza Smoothies and Wraps,  that is perfect for carrying both hot and cold drinks. If you do see that table at CCSC, take a moment and listen to what the person behind the desk has to say.

Public transportation is different depending on where you are. I am Kenyan and there is a big difference between the transportation in Kenya and here. The similarities are that there is plenty of diversity when it comes to characters on public transportation; the difference is ... well where do I start. 

Back home, on my bus route, there was no order when it came to boarding. Rush hour is literally rush hour where the strongest get to work early (the reverse is slightly different).

There is no comfort when it comes to public transportation. People were so packed together it made the saying 'packed like sardines' look and feel like a luxury ride. I think that has changed now, but the strongest get to work early still stands to this day.

It's an easy ride here for the most part. There are those bad apples who cause commuters to think twice about riding public transportation but the majority of the people I've come across, whether in private or public vehicles, are patient and follow the rules. That has made a difference in the safari ya shule experience I've had since I started going to SF State.

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What has been your routine. Tweet @Lehemo

Everyone knows that Union Square gets really crazy during the holidays. As such, I usually tend to avoid the area this time of year unless I have a really good reason or, if for some reason, I just can't avoid it.

Well, as it turns out, going to Macy's to look at the puppies and kittens in the SPCA Holiday Windows display qualifies as a really good reason for me (I'm a sucker for puppies). So I ventured down there a few days ago to check it out for myself. Upon getting close, this is what I saw first:

I repeat, so many people!

Eventually, I was able to fight my way close enough to get a good look. Here's what I saw:

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Off the charts in cuteness.

And here's an adorable video of 2 of the puppies playing. These guys actually got adopted by a family while I was there.

Gotta love the background track, all courtesy of Macy's windows.

This is the sixth year that the San Francisco SPCA has partnered with Macy's for these displays. And in that time, more than two thousand pets have been adopted and more than $250 million have been raised for the SCPA. Overall, the Macy's holiday window displays are currently in their 24th year. The theme of this year's display is based on this famous New York Times editorial from 1897 entitled "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

And, in case you are concerned about the comfort levels of the pets, all of the displays are temperature controlled and have areas for the animals to nap in if they get tired, according to the SCPA. And if you really can't get enough of the puppies and kittens, Macy's has a live stream of the windows on their website so you can keep a constant watch on the display dogs and cats. How cool is that! 

So what do you think of the Macy's holiday window displays and the San Francisco SPCA? Would you brave the Union Square masses for a peak at the puppies? Let me know on Twitter, @karissabe.

What's your favorite public space in San Francisco? Dolores Park? Ocean Beach? Golden Gate Park? These are all great places to enjoy a day of leisure but none of them are anywhere near downtown. But if you have ever walked around the Financial District or SoMA you have probably come across little landscaped plaza areas with places to sit and maybe some art or a fountain. 

These areas are what is known as privately-owned-public-open-spaces or POPOS. It's a long phrase but it means exactly how it reads. The areas are regulated and maintained by the property owners but available to the public. The 1985 Downtown Plan, which set standards for the development of the neighborhood, required every new building to have a public space. Even though some architects included them prior, the requirement has led to a wealth of open space enclaves throughout the most dense part of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association has a map available of all 56 POPOS in the downtown area, which guided me this afternoon. 

I started on Market and Second streets and weaved through some alleys down to Mission Street. It was drizzling but I lucked out because the POPOS at 101 Second Street is indoors. The space is cool. There is large painting and some sculptures, and the Peet's Coffee next door give people a reason to occupy it. 

The rain let up and I headed down to 100 First Street. Yet another cool space. It had a nice, elevated view to the west, north and south and well landscaped gardens. However, this place is a bit hidden. It is on the second the floor, up a narrow set of stairs. Because of this, there was no one in the POPOS when I was there. 

Hiding the POPOS is a common building design used by property owners who hope to bypass the requirement as much as possible and keep the public out. It's important to note that most of these buildings are used for office space. Its purpose is strictly commercial, not public enjoyment. A lot of developers include these space reluctantly, hoping that anyone who doesn't pay rent stays out.

It is also important to remember that POPOS are privately owned, so even though the public is welcome we are subject to the rules of the owner. This pretty much means that you can sit and behave and cannot have the same fun you would might have in Golden Gate Park. No adult beverages, no kickball. The POPOS are monitored closely too. Most of these properties have surveillance cameras and security guards. Definitely not a true public space. 

From First Street, I headed back across Market towards the Financial District. By this point, I wasn't using the map anymore but instead was easily noticing the areas as I walked by.

My final stop was Embarcadero Center West. It's a shopping center with a rooftop park, that suffered from many of the same ills as 101 Second Street. Though it is vast, there was only a couple of people there, both of who were professional-types who stopped by to smoke a cigarette. 

SPUR has noticed these issues too and has a set of guidelines for POPOS. Even though there are so many of these spaces downtown, they could use some smarting designing to be more noticeable. Still, I enjoyed them and I bet stressed out office workers enjoyed them too.

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What's your favorite POPOS in San Francisco? Let me know on Twitter @daveanderson87. 

By Kelly Mendez

For those of us who are privileged enough to call San Francisco home, we often misplace the sentimental feelings we once associated with coming to the “city by the Bay” and marveling at its landmarks. But let's face it; we're all more or less transplants.

I’ve lived here just shy of five years, and when I find myself forced to take a ride on the F Muni line, I always practice a bit of mental preparation for the crowds, questions and general annoyance of crammed quarters coasting along Market Street at very slow speeds. However, I took off my pessimistic resident hat for a day and decided to relive my childhood trip to the wharf to see if that same sense of nostalgic exploration remained. Well, I found out that for the most part it didn't. The smells were less than pleasant, the tourists all seemed grumpy and German and the food, often my only respite in a crappy situation, was overpriced and undercooked. And the seagulls, OMG the seagulls!

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Check out my Flickr gallery, too!

But you still can't deny the appeal that places like Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and their neighboring attractions offer. Where else in the city can you walk down a strip with over a dozen seafood stands literally calling out to you? Or where else can you enjoy a Ghirardelli chocolate bar and realize you're sitting smack in the middle of where it all began? Sure you're surrounded by people you don't know, the traffic moves slow and you'll inevitably be talked into paying for something you really don't need, but isn't that the joy of being a tourist, even if it is only in your hometown?

Though us locals tend to do all we can to avoid traveling down to these "outer lands", we often forget that it is but a short bus ride from the Marina district and Russian Hill and only a plaza-long walk from the Financial District and our beloved Ferry Building. No matter where we are, it is still our own backyard.

There aren't many fun AND cheap things to do around this town, and while down on the pier I was reminded that other than food, it really only costs a small fee of patience to take part in the true Pier 39 experience. Watching seals bark is never not entertaining, seeing a corny magic show while listening to kids shrill joyfully on a carousel is refreshing and watching the out of towners buy magnets in the shape of jelly donuts just to take home "a piece of SF" is downright hilarious. 

Tourists chatter in a crammed F Line streetcar as it rolls back into downtown late in the evening:

Aside from entertaining just myself for a day, this place is a tourism magnet. Last year alone, San Francisco hosted 15.4 million visitors, according to the SF Convention and Visitors Bureau. That’s a lot of people lining up to take an Alcatraz Ferry or hike across the Golden Gate Bridge.

At the end of it all, I was glad to be able to go home. But I was even more thankful that that home is here in San Francisco.

Where do you like to play tourist in your own hometown? Let me know @kellymendez or post a comment on this blog!

This was originally posted on The Social Spotlight

We had to produce a video story as the final project in my online journalism class. The video had to reflect our individual class blogs we had been writing all semester. My blog, Healthy Living in the South Bay, is health blog that focuses on the South Bay Area.

I knew I wanted to do my final video on an acupuncture clinic because early in the semester I wrote about alternative and complementary medicine.

So I decided to go hunting for my story. I usually turn locally to my neighborhood, Willow Glen - and I'm glad I did. As I was walking down Lincoln avenue in Willow Glen I came across a sign that read "Rick Bernard Acupuncture 2F." I immediately climbed up to the second floor and walked into the Center for Complementary Medicine and introduced myself. Unfortunately, Bernard, the center's creator, was not there that Wednesday so I had to schedule an appointment.

The day of our interview, while I was packing up my equipment, I remember holding my digital camera, which I use to record high definition video and thinking that I should check the amount of available space on the memory card but I didn't. I was in a hurry.

My interview with Bernard was going great and I had gotten all of the face-to-face footage I needed. Now it was time for Bernard to demonstrate how acupuncture works. When I looked down at my camera the screen was flashing "Card Full," "Card full," "CardFull." Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I just started using this camera to record video and I wasn't prepared at all to react to the flashing signal. I thought I was screwed. 

First, I thought I'll just delete photos on the card until there's enough space to record video but knew that would take too long and plus I didn't really know how to operate the camera well in the first place. Then, an idea came to me. I'll use my mobile phone to conduct the rest of the interview. Sure I'll look unprepared but it's better than failing completely and not getting any footage at all. So I did.

The rest of the interview was filmed with my Droidx and surprisingly it worked really well. The content isn't as clear as the rest of the interview but I managed to improvise when I was confronted with a problem mid-interview, which is what I was most happy about anyway. 

In the video, the part I recorded with my phone is near the beginning when Bernard is demonstrating acupuncture and an ancient deep-pain technique called cupping. During the interview, I remember thinking that my dilemma would make for a great story to tell my mobile media professor. I'm just glad I got out of there with my dignity and Bernard gave me the opportunity to come back with a better camera. 

Before returning a second time, I checked the memory card in the camera and the battery on my mobile phone, just in case.   

Has your mobile device gotten you out of trouble?  Tell me about your experience on Twitter @danaielgamberg or leave a comment on the bottom of this post.              

Every Saturday, the ferry building at the embarcadero is taken over by the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market where you can buy everything from farm fresh produce, to fresh baked bread and other products locally made and grown. The farmer's market is operated by CUESA and takes place every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

So, I'm not typically a big farmer's market person. It's not that I don't like them but usually going to one requires waking up early on a weekend which is not something I am very good at. But that's one of the things I like about this farmer's market is that all of the vendors stick around until 2pm, plenty of time for us late risers to get down to the Embarcadero.

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The other thing I really like is that there are samples of pretty much everything. You could easily spend your whole morning just walking from stal to stall taking samples of everything, Although, most of it is so good you will be at least tempted to buy some of it.And, when you do, you are supporting local farmers. It doesn't get any cooler than that.

Quick tip: It can get really busy on the weekend so I recommend either getting there early or coming later when the crowd starts to thin out. Or, go on a morning when the weather isn't so great and you will have the place to yourself!

There are also usually several street performers down at the Ferry Plaza on Saturdays. Some of them are better than others but here's a quick video of one of the better ones I've seen down there:

They are performing a cover of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So."

So what do you think of the Ferry Plaza Farmer's MArket? What's your favorite part of farmer's markets? Let me know! @karissabe

This was originally posted on The Social Spotlight.

They say the day before Thanksgiving is the worst day to fly.  We’re told to arrive at least two hours before takeoff, to expect delays and let’s not forget the all-invasive pat down search before we board.

The day after Thanksgiving is supposed to be the best day to shop. Well, that all depends on your motives. If you’re trying to score one of the 50 inch flat screen TVs Best Buy is selling at cost, then yes, it’s a great day to for you to shop.

But for many people, trying to shop on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, if you didn’t already know) is a hectic experience but the prices are just too good to avoid. That’s why thousands of people all over the country pour into malls and electronic stores the day after Thanksgiving.

So I’m sure you can image how important Black Friday is to merchants and retailers. That’s where Air Flight Service comes in. The Santa Clara based aerial photography company is hired each year to photograph Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, so the mall can record the number of cars in the parking lot on Black Friday.    

I tagged along with pilot “Stretch” (he wouldn’t give me his full name) and aerial photographer Matt Barcelona this year during their Black Friday mission to San Mateo.

Before liftoff the two-man team began preparing the small two-engine plane. While Stretch reviewed check list after check list and communicated with tower (airport coordinators), Barcelona stocked the plane with ice chest size rolls of camera film in black metal cases.

We idled on a lane for about 15 minutes before lining up on the runway. The whole process, from preparing the plane for flight to liftoff took about 40 minutes.

When I sat down in the passenger seat next to Stretch he leaned in towards me and casually warned me not to press up again the airplane door. “Airplane doors are thin,” he said. “Don’t lean on it.” I looked at the door to my right and tucked my elbow in and for a split second wasn’t too thrilled about being airborne soon.

The only way I convinced myself that things were going to be alright was to glance over at the man operating the plane. Not because Stretch was a former US Air Force pilot and had been flying for more than 40 years (most of his life), but frankly because he intimated me. He was camera shy and barely spoke to me. He moved so deliberately in the cockpit that for a minute I thought he was upset I was there (he wasn’t). In the presence of a man like Stretch I couldn’t show fear. I had to buck up. Despite my last-minute second thoughts and fear of leaning on the door too hard, it was time to takeoff.       

I asked if I could put my Droidx on the dash during takeoff to record it for this project and Stretch gave me a silent nod of approval. 

Once the plane left the ground, it felt like I was on one of those rollercoasters where your whole body gets suspended in midair for just a millisecond and you get a breief sense of weightlessness, but for longer until the plane leveled out at three thousand feet above sea level.

The rest of flight felt like a well-rehersed routine. Stretch lined up the plane over the the blinking indicator  on his rader screen and Barcelona looked down the camera periscope and took a picture. We flew over the site twice to ensure a good photo. 

On the way back to San Jose, Strech spoke to me through his headset. "So you say you've been in a plane this size only once before?" he aked. Before I responded, he reached beneath my seat to release the lock and it slid it foward towards the passenger side pedals and steering wheel. Then he took his hands of the wheel and I was in control. I flew the plane for about 30 seconds then Stretch took over again. We landed about five minutes later and our mission was complete.

Have you ever flown in a small plane? Tell me about your experience on Twitter @danielgamberg or leave a comment on this post.

A gallery of Keef Ward's work at Edo Salon in Lower Haight

Edo Gallery and Salon in Lower Haight is pretty nice. While I has never been there, a friend invited me to check out a gallery she curated. Upon walking in, I found out the gallery was by San Francisco artist Keef Ward. 

Here's Keef's bio from Edo's website:

Keef Ward’s creations combine collage, silkscreen and painting in innovative juxtapositions that unite humor and social commentary. Born in Los Angeles, Ward lived his early years in Hokkaido, Japan, where his parents were university teachers.  After returning to the U.S., he graduated from Mission Viejo High School, where was awarded summer scholarships to Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design in both Painting and Advertising.  In 1993, he received his B.A. in fine arts from California State University, Chico.  He was an active member of the Red Ink Studios since 2006 and the Root Division since 2008.

I'm not entirely sure how turning the MUNI logo into "Your Mom" is, but is art is rather neat. His other da Vinci-like includes Hello Kitty holding Malt Liquor bottles, which I find to be the TRUE social commentary.

Joking aside, his work is pretty nice. A friend of mine ended up purchasing the "Your Mom" piece. I tried to contact Keef via social media, but his last twitter update was in September and his website is a Geocities link (more commentary!). 

That said, Edo Salon is a cool place so if you want a great hair cut or see some local art, check them out!

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