Lines In The Sand

Your Boulevardier is not a fan of graffiti. Yes, he supposes some graffiti can be art, but much more of it seems to be vandalism and a sort of silent conflict; one group tags a structure, declaring it their territory; another tags the same structure more aggressively, which in their mind revokes the first group's claim; and on and on. Nobody wins, and the owner of the structure loses.

While Your Boulevardier feels strongly about this, he also has to acknowledge a certain appreciation for one form of tagging that seem to have a more benign intention. Specifically, along a walk on Somerset Avenue the other day he noticed two patterns stenciled on the ground. One is of an angel, the other a seahorse. (Because of technical problems, only one is pictured here; the other will be added soon.)


Your Boulevardier suspects that the two were done by different persons, because the styles are so different: the seahorse is solid and chunky, while the angel is stenciled in reverse and has an airy feel to it. (The techniques are appropriate to the subject matter, he thinks.) Yet the black paint used is the same, so perhaps the same individual painted both. One can't know, but if they were created by two people, they do not seem in conflict with one another.

While it's always best to walk looking up -- for safety, and for appreciation of these fine spring days -- Your Boulevardier may cast his eyes downward from time to time over the next few weeks to look for more examples of sidewalk graffiti.

Four Castro Valley Murals

Your Boulevardier spent some time over the weekend walking in San Francisco's Mission District and was swept away by the many stunning murals in the neighborhood. Then he realized: though they're not as eclectic, Castro Valley has a few murals of its own. Four are documented here; can you name others? Please click on the photos for larger images.


This mural is on the side of the former Valley Truck, 2625 Castro Valley Boulevard. The place is now a Budget Rent-A-Truck location (Your Boulevardier misses Valley Truck's giant tire sign), and the rental agency has chosen to mar the mural with its drop box and signage. Still, it's a fun mural and very appropriate for the business that formerly resided here.


This natural - perhaps hyper-natural - scene is on the garage door at Castro Valley Companion Animal Hospital, 2509 Lessley Avenue. (It's the same place that has the whimsical three-dimensional sign.)


Another veterinarian's office - this time Boulevard Pet Hospital, 3489 Castro Valley Blvd. - has a fetching collection of animals painted all over its building. The menagerie seems to expand each time Your Boulevardier walks by. (This is where both Chat du Boulevardier and the Trusty BoulevarDog received their care; at times, Your Boulevardier hopes to see their images immortalized too.)


A scene that could easily be at Lake Chabot is actually painted on the wall of Blenzers, 20668 Rustic Drive in Castro Village. Your Boulevardier is surprised that more people don't sit under the eaves at these tables on warm days, but the awnings at Starbucks seem to be more popular.

Wudas Is Right

There are fewer things online that are more pathetic than an abandoned blog. One of those things is a blog with a long hiatus followed by a post reading "Sorry it's been so long since there has been a post."

The Castro Valley Boulevardier falls into the second category.

The usual excuse applies: real life has been busy. Several things have been noted by Your Boulevardier, but he has not taken time to post on them. For example:

• A couple of weekends ago, several of the concrete trash bins on Castro Valley Boulevard were knocked over. They were righted within a day or so.
• Other vandalism seemed to spike as summer drew to a close. The pedestrian overcrossing over Highway 580, frequented by Your Boulevardier, was tagged again, and promptly cleaned up again. Your Boulevardier is pleased that the appropriate authorities are staying vigilant to it.
• Restaurants have come and restaurants have gone. The Indian restaurant in the Village, the Vietnamese place across from Pete's Hardware, and the "Theme Unknown" place by Kragen Auto Parts are among the openings. (Your Boulevardier has not tried any of them.) Closed are Fongs, Peking Village, and Pancho's. Meanwhile, Bangkok 580 fell victim to a takeover robbery.
• The cloudy creek question (the post on which prompted Wudas to remind Your Boulevardier to update the blog) was resolved, and it appears the problem was simply construction erosion upstream. If Your Boulevardier appeared alarmist, he apologizes.
• Your Boulevardier participated in Barefoot Boot Camp at Castro Valley Yoga in the third week of August. The upper body is still complaining, though proud to have made it. It's amazing and heartening to think that a dozen people would be up and exercising at 6:00 a.m. for six consecutive days!
  
• School has opened, and it is pleasing to Your Boulevardier to see children walking to their classes. Still, school zones continue to be dangerous places for pedestrians, what with distracted parents driving their offspring while engaging in telephone conversations, eating breakfast, or attending to their grooming.
  
• For Sale signs, and vacant properties, seem to be appearing more frequently around town, at least in Your Boulevardier's home district of Baywood.
• Your Boulevardier saw a poster for a Green training class co-sponsored by the Castro Valley Sanitary District and the Castro Valley Adult School, upcoming on September 27. More information can be found at the Adult School website (appropriately enough, on Mr. Green's welcome page.)
• A production of Carousel is coming to the Center For The Arts later in September. One can't go wrong with Rogers and Hammerstein.
• Castro Valley product Rachel Maddow is getting a regular MSNBC show. Your Boulevardier does not partake of intense political coverage from any portion of the spectrum, so he has not seen the show; but he knows friends of Maddow's parents, and hears that they are rightfully proud of their daughter.
  

For now, this list of tidbits will have to suffice. Again, Your Boulevardier apologizes for the long drought of new material.

Overpass Gets a Blast

Graffiti-removal crews have worked for two days to clear graffiti from the pedestrian walkway over I-580 connecting the Baywood District with the BART station and downtown Castro Valley. As Your Boulevardier and the Trusty BoulevarDog are regular users of this overpass, its cleaning is most welcome.

A workman on the crew told Your Boulevardier that his firm had been hired by Alameda County to do the work. He said that there had been some conflict between CalTrans and the County over who was responsible for the cleanup but that in the final analysis the responsibility had fallen to the County. He also said that cleanup was not (yet) on a regular schedule, so it would behoove users of the walkway to contact the County when the tags reappear. One can call (510) 670-5500; more information can be found here.

Personally, Your Boulevardier is busy composing a thank-you note to Supervisor Miley. One does not know if he was responsible for the cleanup, but it's good that he knows that graffiti removal is important to residents of Castro Valley.