Hedonia

Ready for the big one?

Yes, today is the 100th annivesary of the great 1906 quake and fires. If you live in San Francisco and didn't know this, you've had your head wrapped in duct tape with bananas stuck in your ears and buried under 20 feet of sand. Yet despite all the hype -- the newspaper stories, the television shows, the art exhibits, the parades -- how many of you actually have an earthquake kit? Hmm, I thought so.

This may not be a hedonistic topic, but living well means being prepared to live well even when the chips are down. If Katrina taught us anything, it's that in case of emergency, you're pretty much on your own, so you better prepare. Ready Freddy sells a handy kit with some 100 items packaged in categorical bundles -- light/power/communications, tools/supplies/food/water, protection, first aid and personal -- all in a fetching orange backpack. Not cheap at $150, but it pretty much takes care of everything at once. Our local Red Cross branch at 85 Second Street also sells, one-, two- and four-person kits as well as combo kits for larger groupings.

we have a deluxe kit by the front door, and own individual kits to keep in the office. But the kits alone will not get you through. Remember to pack a few extra necessities:

• Water. Most kits come with some, but you'll want more. We keep a spare flat of water bottles handy.
• Change of clothing. Pack a weekender bag with a change of clothing, a few extra pairs of underwear and socks, whatever you want to be comfortable.
• Booze. I'm serious. If ever you're gonna need a drink, this would be the time. If not booze, pack whatever your drug of choice is. I of course mean chocolate. Or whatever.
• Ammunition. I'm certainly no gun-toting NRA wingnut, but you have to be realistic. Chaos brings out the best and the worst in people, and you know damn well few people will be well prepared when the quake hits. Pack whatever it takes to protect yourself and your loved ones.

At least as importantly, have a plan. Know where to meet your spouse/partner/kids/friends, and have a migration plan. There's no guarantee cell phones will work, so you will probably not be able to reach each other.

All this won't make the big quake suck any less, but it could mean the difference between life and death. Don't procrastinate.

Watch it wiggle

What better intersection could there be between the appreciation of all things food and all things San Francisco, particularly on this auspicious anniversary year, than a scale model of the city in wiggly, jiggly Jello? This treasure will be on display -- on a shake table, no less! -- for one day only, April 1, at the Exploratorium. And everyone is all abuzz about it! See more images of the installation in all its Technicolor glory here. (Photo: Liz Hickok via Exploratorium)

(Note: I so want to go to this, but it is the day after my last day at work, so I think the world may just be too shaky already for me on that day.)

In other news, KTVU unearthed a before unseen collection of post-quake photos of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Add it to your list of 1906-related voyeurism.

Shake it up, baby

I guess it's pure coincidence that on the day Gridskipper ran a piece on SFMoMA and the Legion of Honor's respective exhibits on the 1906 quake and fire, the Bay Area was rocked by two minor quakes. (Well, ok, not exactly rocked -- they were barely felt -- but a mildly freaky coincidence nonetheless.) To be sure, I'm very interested in seeing both these exhibits. The MoMA's 1906: A Disaster in Pictures offers a collection of photographs of the devastated city just after the quake and fires. The Legion of Honor's After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire takes it one step further, juxtaposing images of the destruction with contemporary images taken from the same perspectives, showing the rebirth of our fair city.

San Francisco CityGuides is offering three special tours in commemoration of the quakes: Phoenix Rising, It Can't Happen Here and Are We There Yet? As a CityGuide myself, I can vouch for the entertainment and education value of these tours.

Of course, if you're just too damned lazy to get off your butt and get some culture, there are three amazing online sources of images to peruse: The Library of Congress' American Memory collection's Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916; San Francisco Public Library's image library's Earthquakes: 1906; and UC Berkeley Bancroft Library's The 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

1906: A Disaster in Pictures [SFMoMA]
Legion of Honor's After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire [Legion of Honor]
Phoenix Rising, It Can't Happen Here and Are We There Yet? [CityGuides]
Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916 [Library of Congress]
The 1906 Earthquake and Fire [Bancroft Library]
Earthquakes: 1906 [SFPL]