Object Annotation by The Vixen
July 8th, 2007 12:12 AMSince I moved to Berkeley, oh a few (6 or 7) months ago, a feeling of belonging has set in. I've been mobile for about 3 years now. Drifting from San Jose to Santa Cruz, back to San Jose and then to Vancouver BC. Back to San Jose and finally to Berkeley where I will (hopefully) settle down. I've been to 3 different schools in the past year and a half, my fourth approaching (UC Berkeley). Some say that I'm commitment phobic; I say that I'm insatiable.
However, Berkeley has been a blessing. I despise San Jose for it's suburban and static environment. Santa Cruz is laid back, hippie friendly but unmotivating while Vancouver is just plain generic. Canadians are kick-ass though, and so is the accent (which I still slip into from time to time). But Berkeley is different. There is a progressive feeling here, like returning home from a long trip and feeling like a new person; the old life is missed but the new one is just around the corner.
When I first saw the tuning fork, I thought, "What the hell is that?" An ugly sculpture, it looked so out of place amongst the bustling crowd of students, ex-activists, druggies, hipsters and hippies. I then examined the plaque.
It's called, "Earth Song," a giant tuning fork that resonates at 0.6320 hertz, picking up the vibrations of Berkeley including Bart, auto traffic, passing pedestrians and the natural elements. And it seems so fitting; the rest of the world tunes to us.
I now truly appreciate the Bay Area for what it is. I've been half way around the world (Europe, India, South America, Canada) but I haven't found a place that compares. Where else can a half Punjabi, tattooed and pierced liberal vegetarian/wannabe hippie call home?
After moving here, I was hanging out on my housemate's balcony (we live up in the hills) and looked out on the bay. The sun had just set behind the Golden Gate and the line of cars crossing the Bay Bridge towards the city started to twinkle. My housemate took a long drag of her cigarette and after she exhaled, she sighed, "We live at the center of the world."
And I believe it.
zenith.JPG
Beacon of Sound.
plaque.JPG
Earth Song
ode to a tuning fork.JPG
Cheesiness.
going up.JPG
Earth Vibrations
some dork.JPG
Everyone point at the nerd.
11 vote(s)
Ariock Knight
5
The Villain
5
Saul Z
5
Ziggy C.
5
Blue
5
Lank
5
Loki
5
Marshall Electric
5
Burn Unit
5
Fonne Tayne
5
Not Here No More
Terms
(none yet)11 comment(s)
I have to second the vote for the hot girl. Make no mistake: this vote that you're getting is for leaning up against a giant tuning fork in an attractive manner, and has nothing to do with the eloquent insight that the fork has brought you to consider.
Men (and some women) are so shallow. But so manipulatable as well. Muahahahaha......
I'm voting for the HOT tuning fork.
As a kid I would hit a tuning fork and then touch it to the bridge of my violin and it would make the sweetest sound, slowly dying out. And it was rumored that the mythical people with "perfect pitch" could make the same sound. Oh how I practiced and failed!
If there's a place where that perfect sound might indeed occur, it is in the Jerusalem of the new world, SF.
Did you read the text? The new Jerusalem is Berkeley, damn it. SF tries so hard to be cool but it's all about the Berk. For real.
Vote for the very real and thoughtful ode, and because I love tuning forks.
As an East coaster who's been in the bay area only once for a 36 hour period, it all looks gold to me. I'll take your word for it on the Berk and retract my statement.
PROs:
1. Completion authentic, artistic, heart-full
2. Well-traveled
3. Raza Cosmica
4. Tattoos
5. cute
CONs:
1. Dealings with The Villian.
2. Small geography mistake. Universe is not Berkelicentric, it is Sutrocentric.
Prognosis?
Vote.
Friend-add. Let's compare maps.
Wow, somehow I didn't see this task before, but I have read that note.
I saw your ode to the tuning fork before I'd ever heard of SF0. Stood through a couple of walk light cycles reading it. At first I assumed it was a note addressed to an individual person and inexplicably taped to the tuning fork - but by the end I had a more or less accurate picture of what it was and why it was there. Didn't realize there was another layer of context involving a massive distributed game.
I wonder whether we should be adding little "sf0.org" hints on our constructions?
On one hand, discovering something wacky and having no clue what the hell it's about is a neat experience. On the other hand, it's probably the best advertisement sf0 could get. At the very least, I may start adding little notes to the backsides and undersides of things, giving the curious a chance at finding us.
That's so cool that you saw that! Unfortunately, someone tore it off, but I'm thinking of adding a new one, this time with the SF0 emblem. Rock on!
Is the nerd hiding behind the hot girl leaning against the tuning fork?
Hm. I'm in a conundrum. I was planning to vote based on the Ode itself, but don't want to seem like I'm voting because, hey, hot girl. Ah well, life is full of risk.