Monks and Movies in the Hayes Valley

There was a small group meditating in front of the David Best temple on Patricia's Green Saturday morning, quiet and serene within the busy square.



I asked a young woman seated at a picnic bench nearby if she knew what the group was about, and she told me they were followers of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and peace activist Thích Nhất Hạnh. According to his Wikipedia page, the 89-year-old Nhất Hạnh had a severe stroke in 2014 at his home in France. There was also this bit of news: "As of July 11, 2015, Thay has been flown to San Francisco to speed his recovery with an aggressive rehabilitation program through UCSF Medical Center. In September 2015, Nhất Hạnh spoke his first words since his stroke."



Across the street, the outdoor screen at Proxy, which originally had something to do with a workout group that never materialized, was being doubled in width.



Tony, my other half, commented, "Good. They can finally show movies in the proper aspect ratio."



I'm still wondering why there needs to be a big black structure in what is essentially a parklet. With luxury condos going up on every available piece of land nearby, what the neighborhood needs is open space.



It also needs open skies, even ones decorated with ads created by choreographed planes.



Speaking of choreographed air shows, the rooftop of the new 100 Van Ness luxury rental skyscraper was jammed with residents meditating on the excitement of Blue Angels death machines.