BaumBlog: WHERE TO BEGIN?

JUNE 23, 2025

WHERE TO BEGIN?

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I WAS going to start the first blog in quite a while with the whimsical gorgeous sculptures that were in residence through yesterday at Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco. But NOW, I thought, It doesn't seem quite appropriate somehow, now that we have bombed Iran in order to please Netanyahu.

Yes, the entire world is edging closer and closer to catastrophe. Yes, our President is a malevolent narcissist who is also very stupid. Last time around, I thought it was a GOOD thing that he was stupid and lazy and incompetent. It meant he

would simply do LESS, and I think that was true. But THIS time, he's having a BALL being stupid and lazy and incompetent. And that is an absolutely terrible thing which might lead to the disintegration of our country and the complete collapse of civilization. And, even though civilization is just so awful, I'm still very attached to it and am certain that I will miss it if it collapses.

But then I decided that no matter how bad things are, we can still take a moment to enjoy whimsy and beauty, can't we? And that's kind of a specialty of San Francisco. Despite what you might have heard, this city is still so much fun to walk around.

So dadgummit, I have decided to begin with beauty and whimsy!

Photo by Craig Lee

These fantastical beings are alebrijes made by Oaxacan artists Angelico Jiminez, Adrian Xuana, Ephrain Santos, Constantino Blass, and Linares. I bought an alebrije when I was in Mexico. Only, instead of being fiberglass and 15 feet tall or long and mounted on 8 foot bases, it was carved of wood and four inches long. I would love to show my alebrije to you. But Loulou, my standard poodle, found it very appetizing.

Here's a shop window on 24th Street full of normal size allebrijes.

As you can see, even small alebrijes are totally cool. The one in the middle is an imaginary animal like the big sculptures in the park. And now back to the giant alebrijes...

But one has no need to go to a special exhibition in a lovely park in order to see something surprising and delightful. Oh no. One can find magic so many places in San Francisco. Therefore, now for my next offering, I present for your delectation ...

JUST SOME WALL OFF OF HAYES STREET

I always spend a lot of time looking at this wall. There is so much to see, so many colors and forms. It's so... so... EXUBERANT!

Questions arise: How many people worked on it? One? Ten? Was it done in a weekend or over months? Where did the artist(s) get all that stuff?

If you came upon this wall in a museum with the name of someone on a plaque next to it, would you not find it delightful? And yet here it stands outside, day in day out, rain or shine, plaqueless, created for free, for the joy of creation, as a gift to the street.