Take a Walk with SF State’s Stairmistress, Explore California Culture at the Oakland Museum

Need to burn off some holiday calories? Consider purchasing the sixth edition of alumna Adah Bakalinsky’s “Stairway Walks in San Francisco.” The book, published by Wilderness Press, has been updated with more picturesque walks. Whether you’re new to the city or a native, chances are you’ll find a few new spots to step in San Francisco.

  

 Surf’s Up: Congratulations to alumna Elizabeth Pepin, who has won three awards for “One Winter Story,” a documentary she filmed/produced/shot with Sally Lundburg. OWS examines the life and legacy of Sarah Gerhardt, the first woman to surf Maverick’s, (the monstrous wave that breaks off Half Moon Bay). The awards, presented at the 2007 Santander-Festival Internacional De Cine De Cantabria in Spain, included a “Spanish Olympic Committee Award for Film that Best Embodies the Olympic Spirit.” Next month Pepin will begin shooting a film on the State Water Board. And in yet more Pepin/H20-related news, look for her stunning photographs in “Surfing Women of the Waves,” a book out from Gibbs Smith in February.

 

“Under the Dragon: California’s New Culture” (Heyday Books, ’07), co-authored by SF State alumnus Fred Setterberg, has been described by alumna Janice Mirikitani (former SF Poet Laureate) as “a compelling case for stretching beyond our own assumptions about our differences.” Well put! The book offers a beautiful collection of photographs and commentary about the people of today’s California–a place where, as one coauthor points out, a St. Patrick’s Day parade might include a Chinese dragon being operated by an African American. The book inspired an exhibit at the Oakland Museum–check it out from Jan. 19 to April 6, 2008.

There are all sorts of interesting treasures and tidbits inside SF State’s Poetry Center, like this one about poet Ted Hughes mentioned in a recent SF Chronicle article about the late Diane Middlebrook:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/16/MNCUTUELK.DTL

To search for other recordings, visit the Poetry Center online:

http://www.sfsu.edu/~poetry/archives/archivesMain.html

Thank you, letter writers! Just received an especially lovely note from an alumna whose late father is mentioned in the latest issue of SF State Magazine. Apparently many of his friends received the issue and were inspired to reconnect with the alumnus’ family. We love to hear these kinds of things. If you have any comments about the magazine or story ideas for a future issue, please e-mail me: abee@sfsu.edu

Professor Ken Kobre in the spotlight, Gator gifts

New York Times columnist David Pogue has selected Professor [Ken] Kobre’s Lightscoop as one of his “Cool, Cheap Gadgets” this year. He will be reviewing the photojournalism professor’s  invention on CNBC Thursday, Dec. 13, around 11:30 a.m. Eastern time.

The Lightscoop is a snazzy little light diffuser for digital cameras that promises an end to such indoor photography pitfalls as demonic red eye and weird dark shadows on people’s faces. It performs the same basic function as elaborate external flashes used by professionals–but with a much more affordable price tag: $30.

Professor Kobre told me that his hatred of “ugly flash photos” served as the inspiration for his invention. He started with an aluminum pie pan. “I held it to on my camera and realized I could get an amazing picture but I didn’t want to keep holding the pie tray on my camera,” he said.  So he called in Michael McParland, one very talented design and industry major, to create the sleek look of the device.  A professional visual merchandising designer for a major company, McParland knows his stuff but this was his first complete industrial design project, from concept to manufacture. He and Kobre went through many versions before they nailed it. The whole process, from pie pan to patent, took three years.

The device works.  The professor took a quick snap of me without the Lightscoop (I pray he deleted the image and isn’t using it for instructional purposes in class). Then he placed the Lightscoop atop his camera. No fiddling with anything else. Same lighting. Same everything. A quick push of the shutter and voila, I no longer looked like I had been booked on charges at 3 a.m. 

With all the picture-taking around the holidays, it’s a great time to pick up a Lightscoop! 

Lest you think this is the only great gift idea to come out of SF State, please check out our annual list of Gifts with a Gator Connection: http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/2007/fall/92.htm

 

A Medal for SF State Magazine!

Just returned from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII Conference in Las Vegas, where SF State Magazine was honored as one of the three best university magazines in the western region of the United States. Woo hoo!

The competition was stiff. We were up against university magazines from colleges and universities across California, Arizona, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah–and many of these instituitions have a great deal more resources than we do. We received a bronze medal of excellence. The other winners were USC’s Law School publication (gold) and Santa Clara’s University Magazine (silver). Congratulations to both! We are honored to be in the company of their fine publications. 

Speaking of the magazine, the latest issue has just arrived on campus and will soon hit alumni mailboxes . Inside you’ll read about myriad exciting SF State people, including forensic artist Gloria Nusse.  Her skills recently helped identify a murder victim in a case that went cold more than three years ago. You can learn more about the case Dec. 15 at 8 p.m. on 48 Hours Mystery. Tune in!