I saw no smoke or emergency vehicles so who knows – probably an accidental trigger or a drill. Either way, no museum for me today. I’ll try again tomorrow.

In the meantime, look, a pretty flower. Awwww.

After chowing down on a half-dozen puffs, one person interviewed in the article declared it to be “one of the best days in my life.” Others, however, aren’t sold, saying “it’s a fad, cream puffs are not a staple.”

Beard Papa’s is a Japanese chain:

“It’s a very Japanese phenomenon,” said the 38-year-old Ongpin. “They take a Western product that’s been around for a long time, they engineer it and they bring it to the top level.”

Wow, first cars, now dessert. Who knew one could re-engineer a dessert.

So, San Franciscans, have you puffed yet? I’m eager to hear confirmation of this cream phenom. Perhaps a field trip is in order . . . .

Sometimes we remember particularly good days in great detail. June 11 is one such day for me and since, over the course of Metroblogging San Francisco, people have covered all the things that happened to have made June 11 a great day for me, I’d like to recap them for you, in case you’ve awakened this Sunday morning to find a sunnier, warmer day than I think it might end up being – or you need something to brighten whatever kind of day it turns out to be.

For the last few weekends, I’ve revived an old tradition of ditching my weekend runs (okay, the ditching the weekend runs part is a long-standing tradition, you got me) in favor of strolling through the park, coffee and Arizmendi treat in hand, to catch some free music by the Conservatory of Flowers.

Sometime in the near future, I’ll stop listening to the heavenly strains long enough to formally interview these guys, but for now, let me just recommend (again) that you wander down to the pedestrian tunnel in front of the Conservatory (off JFK, Dr.) and keep your ears peeled for the sounds of sax and bass taking full advantage of the tunnel’s acoustics. I’ve seen them there playing any time between 11:30 and 1:00pm or so. June 11 a year ago was a Saturday and on that day, there was a much fuller ensemble – but I haven’t been on Saturday in awhile. One instrument or 20 instruments sound equally amazing when enjoyed in our lush, green park – especially when you have time to sit and just take in the sights and sounds. If the weather is good and you grab that Arizmendi treat you’ll have yourself a full 5-senses experience.

After enjoying that and perhaps catching some more park goodness, do whatever productive things you have to do before Monday, then slip over to North Beach for dinner and then a drink at what Anna so rightfully calls one of SF’s best bars, 15 Romolo.

Even if you blew your dinner and a drink budget last night, catch the music in the park today and ready yourself for the week ahead.

The kind everyone else watches.

The Chron has a story about what strikes me as the very American practice of rooting for teams other than – or at least along with – our own – growing up with an Italian grandmother and a Croatian best friend, Italy and Croatia games were never missed.

There’s also a list of bars where you can catch live World Cup action:

Absolute Addiction, 1581 Webster St., June 12, June 17-18 and June 22, at the Kinokuniya building of the Japantown Mall in San Francisco. Live public screenings, international booths and cultural performances. Supported by the Consulate General of Japan and the Japantown Merchants Association. For more information, go to www.geocities.jp/absoluteaddiction2006.

The Chieftain Irish Pub, 198 Fifth St, San Francisco, (415) 615-0916. Will show all games live.

Goethe-Institut, 530 Bush St., San Francisco, (415) 263-8760. Will open doors at 8:45 a.m. for 9 a.m. games. Big screen.

Kezar Pub, 770 Stanyan St., San Francisco, (415) 386-9292. Will show all games live and repeat them at 5 p.m.

Mad Dog in the Fog, 530 Haight St., San Francisco, (415) 626-7279. Will show all games live and repeat them at 5 p.m.

Made in Brazil Plus, 4820 Bissell Ave., Richmond, June 17. Brazilian dancing, live music, and rebroadcast soccer matches at 8 p.m. Contact the Bay Area Brazilian Club, (415) 334-0106.

The Rose & the Crown English Food, 547 Emerson St, Palo Alto. Will show all games live. (650) 327-7673.

Santo Cristo Hall, 41 Oak Ave., South San Francisco, June 13, 18 and 22. Brazilian food, music and 9 a.m. World Cup screenings. Contact the Bay Area Brazilian Club, (415) 334-0106.

South Beach Cafe, 800 Embarcadero, San Francisco, (415) 974-1115. Will open at 5:30 a.m. on early game days. Popular with Brazilians.

South Korean Consulate, 3500 Clay St, San Francisco, (415) 921-2251. Will broadcast games on a wide-screen television in its lobby during its business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Props to the South Korean Consulate for getting into the act. Pretty fun-loving diplomats they’ve got there. I also noticed that best-ever-named Mucky Duck, here in the Inner Sunset (9th Ave just south of Irving) is advertising live games on an HDTV flatscreen.

Game on!

Initial passage of the legislation — which would shut the main drags in the park’s east side on Saturdays for a six-month trial — was a victory for cyclists, joggers and advocates of green space. The streets already are closed on Sundays.

The ordinance was vehemently opposed by Inner Sunset neighborhood and Richmond District residents concerned about the impact it would have on demand for already scarce street parking just outside the park. It also was fought by advocates for disabled people, who see barring cars as tantamount to putting up an unwelcome sign on the city’s signature greenbelt.

The measure as well drew the ire of supporters of cultural institutions lining the Music Concourse who worry about a loss of visitors and who mounted campaigns that helped to defeat earlier efforts to close park roadways

[jump] The six-month trial closure would affect 1 1/2 miles of roadway and mimic the Sunday closure of John F. Kennedy Drive between Kezar Drive and Transverse Drive, a routine that has gone on for 39 years and is favored by bicyclists, runners and other parkgoers.

During the period, city officials would gather information on changes in park usage, traffic and parking patterns, and adjustments that could be made to public transit to support the program.

It’s not law yet and even if so, it’s a short term test. I think it’s a bad idea. Especially given the parking strapped neighborhoods (like mine) that would be most hurt by the ban. Kudos, however, to my neighborhood Supervisors Fiona Ma (across the street) and Sean Elsbernd (my house) for again casting the thoughtful vote to preserve park access for everyone.

Today, the Chron’s continuing series on the 1906 earthquake that leveled everything but the Little Shamrock (in the Inner Sunset, bless it, go grab a pint there today!), looks at the earthquake’s unexpected consequences in Chinatown:

The earth dragon has awakened, Chinatown residents are said to have screamed as the 1906 earthquake and fire flattened their neighborhood and killed untold numbers.

But San Francisco’s Chinatown was already under siege. White leaders considered the Chinese an economic threat, filthy and dangerous, and were trying to push them out. The Chinese Exclusion Act, barring most Chinese from entering the United States since 1882, had slowed the flow of newcomers to a trickle of teachers, students and merchants.

Yet when government buildings were destroyed a century ago, so were the birth and immigration records inside. Scores of Chinese recognized the serendipity, claiming citizenship and bringing in their children.

So there you have it – the Great Quake and the Great Immigration Debate together at last. We’re much better, as a city and as a country, at remembering the quake than we are at remembering that throughout American history, each new migrant group has faced the same kind of prejudice and hate. Chinatown faced it. Years before and in different parts of the country, North Beach wouldn’t have been so popular either. The common theme: change happens – geologic and demographic.

But here’s something that might appeal to first time or weekend runners a bit more.

On Sunday, April 23, Crissy Field will again be the location for the MMRF Race for Research – San Francisco.

Multiple Myeloma is an incurable cancer of the plasma cells, important cells of the immune system that produce and release antibodies to help fight infection. It is the second most common blood cancer, representing 1% of all cancers and 2% of all cancer deaths. This year, 14,400 Americans will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma and 11,200 will die of the disease.

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) is a non-profit organization driven by a single purpose: to accelerate the search for a cure for multiple myeloma. The MMRF is the number one private funder of myeloma research.

Earlier this year, the disease claimed the life of Tom Klemens, the father-in-law of one of my friends. She and her husband, who along with many other friends have run this 5k in the past, are continuing to honor his memory by running as a team in the 5k.

So for those of you who need a reason to get outdoors after these weeks and weeks of bad weather, or if you need an instant boost to both your heart rate and your karma, here’s a local even along one of San Francisco’s most beautiful (and flat!) running courses. And 5k is only 3.1 miles (yet sounds so impressive). You can join Tom’s team, register for the race on your own (or with your own team), or if you know you won’t be able to resist the snooze button, you can donate without running or walking.

MMRF Race for Research – San Francisco: Sunday, April 23, 2006, 8:30am; Crissy Field, Golden Gate National Recreation Area; San Francisco; Entry is $25 in advance or $30 on race day; runners and walkers welcome.

Recovering from the bar exam and with nothing in particular to do, I wandered down to the new deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park.

I’d been admiring the exterior during a few of my park runs since it opened. For a large, brown, metal behemoth, I find the building surprisingly warm. It should be off-putting as hell. But it just isn’t. And every square inch of it – from the display cases to the doorways – is art. Art within art, surrounded by art, standing on art.

Because I’m never sure how much photography is allowed within the galleries, I kept my shutterfinger happy outside. Here’s a sculpture that a friend recognized as T2′s T1000.

No angle but a pretty angle

Looking back at the building from the (slightly under populated) sculpture garden outside the museum’s cafe, I caught this light/wall play. This view made me wish I were a better photographer.

Also worth checking out on the grounds is some sort of sunken art/astronomy/theatery thing that I couldn’t find a sign for but seemed to me the perfect place for high school visitors to sneak off and make out in. Okay, the perfect place for me to sneak off and make out in. Seriously, though, it was empty, hidden from view, and it had benches. It’s either for making out or its an incredible safety hazard.

Jabuka

There’s even clearly genetically engineered fruit available. This may be my favorite sculpture in the garden, next to the giant safety pin which to me seems like the long lost cousin of the Bow & Arrow on the Embarcadero.

So if you haven’t been there yet, makes plans to check out the deYoung – and don’t forget your camera. There are ample photo spots in the gallery, around the grounds, and don’t forget the tower – you can see your house from there. Promise.

UPDATE: I overshot it. It was only a 3.4, centered in Orrinda. Just making sure we’re paying attention, I suppose.

No matter how small they are, however, I always wonder where the hell we’re supposed to go in this city in the event of the get-out-of-the-house kind. There’s nothing but wires out there. I know the appropriate reaction is never to race outside, but at some point, you may have to move to safe ground. But it seems like electrocutionville out there.

In some parts of the world, like New Orleans, the pre-Lenten celebration includes some Girls Gone Wild type action, copious consumption of booze, and all out debauchery in preparation for obligatory fast and abstinence days (not that kind of abstinence, no). In other parts of the world, this day is celebrated not with beads, booze, and boobs but with . . . pancakes?

No, really.

In England (here and here, for example), Shrove Tuesday is also Pancake Day. I’ve been told – possibly just to make me sounds stupid by repeating it to a limitless web audience – that Pancakes aren’t normal breakfast fare in the UK aside from Pancake Day. This, combined with their lack of actual biscuits makes me question their being called a civilized nation, but hey, who am I to judge. But let’s be clear, New Orleans and Rio: drunk, naked, parading the streets. England: pancakes, whilst fully clothed, at the table.

I haven’t had pancakes in a long time and since it’s too cold to run topless through the streets, I think I’ll celebrate pancake day myself tomorrow and spend the time while I’m eating wondering what I’ll give up for Lent. How ’bout you all – anyone out there follow those traditions? Giving up anything good this year?

So Happy Pancake Day!/Mardi Gras!/Etc! If you celebrate any of those in any way, feel free to share your plans and stories below!