Recently, my friend Drake and I got bumped off our Zeppelin trip from Sunnyvale to Long Beach California due to the fog. No matter, we went to Oakland and made a tour of some pretty fine places. The second most interesting ‘thing’ I have ever seen is Artscape a 20 minute animation at the far end of the Pixar exhibition at the Oakland Museum.
The museum itself is overflowing with exhibits (make sure to open the random drawers in the cabinets throughout the place) on the history of California to contemporary art but the Pixar retrospective is beautiful, relevant, emotionally accessible and pure fun. The film is just behind Petra in my world. I have never seen film remotely comparable.
After this we strolled over to the Lake Chalet 9part of a 10 million dollar renovation of the lakeside) for lunch where we sat on a dock in Lake Merritt with the egrets and had a great lunch.
About half a mile further east is a new Catholic cathedral. It is so modern that Drake and I dug in deep trying to figure out how the Vatican could have sanctioned this 170 million dollar masterpiece.
Of course you and I helped pay for it because all those busy builders drove down our roads tax-free to build it so really if you add the taxes back it tops 300 million. You paid for it so go inside and put yer feet up. In the basement is a crazy graveyard looking very Valley-of-the-Kings like.
Oakland. There is a there there.
This piece was contributed by guest author Jamis MacNiven of Bucks of Woodside.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
