Monday, November 17th 2008
Yesterday, I listened to Common’s first album, “Can I Borrow a Dollar?,” for the first time in like five or six years. I forgot just how superb and underrated this album really is and felt compelled to write a little story about Common [...]
Friday, November 14th 2008
I wish skateboarding would just hurry up and die. It’s time to start all over again. All this Ryan Sheckler, X-Games, Dew Tour, Cool Kids, Zumiez, mall grippin', MTV nonsense has to go. Feed it to the buzzards [...]
Thursday, November 13th 2008
I received some very saddening news the other day that an old buddy of mine from Seattle, Morgan Otonicar (a.k.a. Kerse1), passed away over the weekend. I met Morgan when he first moved to The City in 1999/2000. He was very young at the time, no older than 16 or 17 [...]
Tuesday, November 11th 2008
Congrats are definitely in order to Mr. Dan Graff out in New York City for being the first of only three to answer last Thursday’s Trivia Contest question correctly. (Is this the same Dan Graff that works at the Max Fish bar? Gotta be.) Dan, be on the lookout for your prizes! [...]
Monday, November 10th 2008
I woke up Friday morning in Vegas, hungover, with less than three hours of sleep under my belt to the following text message from my good friend Wes in Minneapolis [...]
Thursday, November 6th 2008
Apologies about the Trivia Contest hiatus. I know I promised to post a Halloween-themed question last week Friday (10/31), but ended up getting caught up dealing with some other ish instead. My bad. The last couple of weeks have been slightly on the hectic side [...]
Monday, November 3rd 2008
Gordon Park Pool, located in Milwaukee’s River West, was a fifteen-minute bus ride from my mom's place. The pool sat empty nearly eight months out of the year and was ideal for skateboarding [...]
Wednesday, October 29th 2008
Thanks to everyone that participated in last week Friday’s two-part trivia contest. Unfortunately, no one answered either question correctly. I’m a little surprised as you guys usually nail these things on the quick fast. However, I will tell you that I made sure neither answers could easily be found on Google [...]
Monday, October 27th 2008
So the misses and I ventured to Glen Ellen, just north of Sonoma, this pas weekend for a milestone birthday party at our good friends’ family winery and vineyard [...]
Friday, October 24th 2008
Trivia Time! Two part question: Who said it and which '90s hip-hop artist or group later sampled it? "Right now you're high as a junkie with a $100 habit..." [...]
Thursday, October 23rd 2008
Isaac Mckay-Randozzi sent over a link to some photos and a video from the set up and opening reception of Todd Francis’ show at 3131 Clement Gallery, and Plug1 over at Whatimseeing.com sent over the photo below of Kyle McDonald and me from 1998 [...]
Monday, October 20th 2008
It probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that I like books, fiction in particular. I guess you can say I’m a collector of sorts, although only a small handful of my books hold any monetary value [...]
Tuesday, October 14th 2008
Back in the saddle after a relaxing five day adventure in Vancouver, BC. This was my second trip to Vancouver this year. My first visit back in late April was for my cousin’s bachelor party. I liked the city so much that I decided to go back again with my wife before the rainy season hit (we just missed it). Needless to say, both visits were two entirely different experiences [...]
Thursday, October 9th 2008
Get your shred on at the All-Skate Jam happening this weekend in Golden Gate Park. This is an event for wood-pushers of all genres: new school, old school, freestyle, slalom, you name it [...]
Tuesday, October 7th 2008
Explore the dark, mysterious and eerie side of San Francisco on this two-hour walking tour, where participants will explore the gothic side of Nob Hill, including historic places such as Grace Cathedral, the Nob Hill Cafe, Huntington Park and the Fairmont Hotel, among other spots [...]
Friday, October 3rd 2008
My wife and I decided to walk to the newly opened discount bookstore yesterday evening. The discount store is just an annex of the regular bookstore. The two stores are located a block-and-a-half from one another.
Monday, September 29th 2008
I’m back from the dead, literally. I had a vicious cold that had me out of commission for nearly six days. I’m feeling much better now, but am not quite a 100% yet [...]
Friday, September 26th 2008
Schroeder's is the oldest and largest German restaurant and bar on the West Coast and celebrates its 115th anniversary today. The event includes live polka bands, traditional Bavarian dancing and both male and female beer-holding contests [...]
Thursday, September 25th 2008
Renowned skateboard graphics artist Todd Francis’ solo exhibition, “New and Used,” opens tomorrow night at the 3131 Clement Gallery in the city’s Outer Richmond District [...]
Tuesday, September 23rd 2008
So I’m back in San Francisco now from my Midwest getaway and of course I have a nasty cold. My nose is runny and red, my throat is sore, and my eyes are itchy, watery and bloodshot. I had the pleasure of spending nearly four hours at the DMV this morning getting my license renewed. Fun stuff. Did I mention I had an appointment? To top it off, I look like a damn dope fiend in my picture.
Friday, September 19th 2008
Spent the last five days vacationing in Milwaukee (a.k.a.: Brewcity). Arrived back in Minneapolis late last night. Had to flash on some scrub in the dining car for trying to swipe my dinner roll. Caused a pretty big scene and almost got booted off the train in bumble f*ck Wisconsin [...]
Sunday, September 14th 2008
Sorry about the lack of updates. I'm in Minneapolis at the moment, kicking it with some old friends of mine, dudes I've known for like 18 years now. I've been here for the last three days and raged hard each night [...]
Thursday, September 11th 2008
I’m what some people may call a flea market junkie. I love everything about flea markets: the atmosphere, the people, the bargaining, the bickering, the smell of old stuff and most of all, the hunt for that needle in a haystack [...]
Thursday, September 4th 2008
I met Lee in the fall of 1997. He squatted at the MUNI bus stop shelter catty-corner to my house on Haight and Laguna, across from the UC Berkeley Extension Center in San Francisco’s Lower Haight [...]
Tuesday, September 2nd 2008
An interview I conducted with local artist Andrew Schoultz appears on the cover of the Datebook section in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. The interview focuses on Andrew’s upcoming show, “In Gods We Trust,” which opens Thursday at the Marx & Zavattero Gallery in San Francisco’s Union Square.
Thursday, August 28th 2008
When it comes to music, hip-hop music in particular, I find myself perpetually stuck in the '80s and '90s, with the early-to-mid '90s era being my favorite. I honestly don't think I've gone to the store to buy a new release since '97 or '98. Most of my music is on tape. I don’t even own a iPod, let alone know how one works.
Tuesday, August 26th 2008
Apologies about the hiatus. I was out of town, but am back in the saddle now. Although the work is piled high, I feel very relaxed, which is funny because I didn’t get any R&R time the five days I was away.
Monday, August 18th 2008
Below is a little slideshow containing some pics I snapped over the weekend. There are also a couple of leftovers at the end of the gallery from a few weeks back [...]
Saturday, August 16th 2008
I pulled this Cellski gem out of the vault the other day. This interview was conducted in early February of 2003, one week after local San Francisco rapper Hitman of RBL Posse was shot and killed while driving his car in Hunters Point [...]
Tuesday, August 12th 2008
I went to visit local artist Andrew Schoultz at his Mission District studio this past Saturday. He’s been busy gearing up for a big show entitled “In Gods We Trust” that opens Sep. 4 at the Marx Zavattero Gallery in S.F., near Union Square.
Saturday, August 9th 2008
So I caught some of the Olympic ceremony last night on the old boob tube. Christ, what a spectacle. You would have thought we were welcoming the aliens to earth or something [...]
Wednesday, August 6th 2008
I thought it was only fitting that I follow up the Hunter S. Thompson documentary review with this interview that I did with Hell’s Angel icon Ralph “Sonny” Barger for “Slap Magazine” back in 2005. I actually conducted the interview some time in late 2004, but it wasn’t published until April 2005, a couple months after Thompson committed suicide [...]
Monday, August 4th 2008
Oscar winning director Alex Gibney's new documentary, "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson," offers a fascinating look into Hunter S. Thompson’s wild and crazy life, which includes personal insight from the author’s family, friends, business associates and various political figures (some friend, some foe) [...]
Friday, August 1st 2008
Former Mayor “Slick” Willie Brown done got himself a column in the “San Fran” Chronicle and folks ain’t too happy ‘bout it [...]
Thursday, July 31st 2008
The article below was written by the late, great author Kurt Vonnegut in the mid-to-late 90s, and is hands-down one of the finest pieces about writing and style that I’ve ever read. Now I know 90% of you reading this post won’t make it past the next sentence. Sorry, there are no pictures here of hipsters in tight jeans and neon plastic shades whiling out at the trendy watering hole on mommy and daddy’s dime [...]
Monday, July 28th 2008
The wait is finally over! I can now cross Richard Mulder’s interview off my things things-to-do list. I must say, I'm very pleased with the finished product. The questions you readers sent in for Richard to answer were quite exceptional [...]
Friday, July 25th 2008
I found this old picture of me from 1998 blasting a wallie off this sketchy bump-to-wall on 15th Street, between Mission and South Van Ness in San Francisco's Mission District. I was 19-years-old at the time [...]
Thursday, July 24th 2008
I stumbled across a hilarious post this morning on my friend Benny Gold’s Blacklodges.com blog from July 15 entitled, “You Guys Are Still Around?” Now this post is hands down one of the funniest things I’ve read/seen in a while [...]
Friday, July 18th 2008
My good friend Isaac Mckay-Randozzi chimed in yesterday in response to Wednesday’s post, which asked if anyone could name any other skateboarders besides Richard Mulder and Gershon Mosley that rode for Milk Skateboard Goods (MSG), Christian Hosoi’s short-lived early ‘90s skateboard company [...]
Thursday, July 17th 2008
My amigo Leland at 48Blocks.com hipped me to an amazing "Seasons 4" montage on Youtube. The Seasons series was the creation of renowned skateboarder and videographer Trevor Prescott who sadly passed away in 2006 [...]
Wednesday, July 16th 2008
Apologies for not announcing the Timothy Dowling’s bonus trivia contest winner yesterday as promised, but shit has been hectic [...]
Friday, July 11th 2008
We’ve already received a handful of exceptional questions from readers for the upcoming
Richard Mulder interview and must say they’re definitely not your run-of-the-mill skate interview questions. Questions so far range from individuals seeking financial advice to others looking for tips on where to find good deals on quality suits. No joke. This interview is turning into something right out of GQ Magazine [...]
Wednesday, July 9th 2008
Let me first start by apologizing for my hiatus and making you all wait so long to announce the Timothy Dowling guest trivia contest winner. I’ll spare the excuses, just know that I am alive and well. As a token of my apology, I plan to make the prolonged wait well worth it for you. (Keep reading, you’ll see…)
Wednesday, July 2nd 2008
Below is an article I penned about the grand opening of San Francisco’s new
Potrero del Sol Skatepark, which was featured yesterday on
SFist.com. The site averages 717,000 visits a month (and growing) [...]
Monday, June 30th 2008
It is with great pleasure that I welcome renowned videographer Timothy Dowling as the first Weekly Trivia Contest guest [...]
Friday, June 27th 2008
I know the suspense leading up to this week’s guest trivia contest has been nail biting [...]
Thursday, June 26th 2008
The S.F. Skate Club, a youth skateboarding program dedicated to providing children with skateboarding lessons and mentoring, hosted an art show last Friday in Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s office at City Hall [...]
Monday, June 23rd 2008
So I’ve decided to announce Friday’s contest winner today instead of Wednesday on account of the fact that I’m getting flooded with answers, correct answers I might add. You folks are pretty damn good! [...]
Friday, June 20th 2008
I thought of this week’s trivia contest while walking past the spot pictured below early this morning. It was still dark outside, so I had to come back an hour later to shoot the photo. [...]
Tuesday, June 17th 2008
Congrats to the Bay Area’s own John Schlesinger for winning last week’s contest, which proved to be a tough one! The correct answer is [...]
Friday, June 13th 2008
Last week’s contest was way easy. This week’s is no doubt going to be a little tougher. Truthfully, I’ll be surprised if anyone actually gets this one. Let’s go ahead and get started [...]
Thursday, June 12th 2008
If you live in San Francisco or plan to visit The City anytime soon, I highly recommend you take the “Victorian Home Walk Tour.” On this tour, you will explore the colorful row houses, famous mansions and exquisite gardens of Pacific Heights, which includes a visit inside a “Queen Anne” Victorian. It's also a green tour: The area is banned to tour buses, so participants will take public transportation (which can be a whole other adventure in itself). [...]
Wednesday, June 11th 2008
I received the below message via email from a reader in response to Monday's Post. Gald to know I'm not the only one out there that still appreciates cassette tapes [...]
Tuesday, June 10th 2008
Last week Thursday (6/5/08) marked 40 weeks straight of writing my weekly
“City Sports” column for the
S.F. Chronicle. I haven’t missed a single week yet. Believe me, it’s not easy handing in a story for print ever single Thursday, especially with all my other day-to-day responsibilities. Just the research alone can be extremely time-consuming. Much respect to the daily columnists. Now that’s gnarly! [...]
Monday, June 9th 2008
Congrats to Andrew Nacion out in Daly City for being the first of six to respond with the correct answer to
Friday’s trivia question. [...]
Friday, June 6th 2008
Apologies in advance for being out of touch since flipping the switch on the site Tuesday afternoon. I’ve been pushing buttons and twisting knobs on the back end. HTML is clearly not my forte. [...]
Friday, May 30th 2008
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to my new and improved website, Travis Jensen SF Dot Com.
This site has been a long time coming!
Here you will find select works from my portfolio, tons of new photos and videos, interviews, book reviews and a frequently updated blog, among other features... [...]
Thursday, May 29th 2008
I sniped this blog from my good friend Benny Gold. He gathered up all the homies a couple weeks back for a photo shoot up at Wallenburg. He wanted to get a pic of everyone posse deep for a little something that’s about to drop here in the next week or so.
I think the project is still top-secret, so I’ll keep my tongue tied about it for now.
I’ll post details once declassified. [...]
Wednesday, May 28th 2008
A new slideshow of stories, articles and interviews I wrote for various publications from 2000-2004 is now up in the portfolio section. I'd like to post the text that goes along with each of these clips, but I can't find most of the files for the life of me. Bummer. [...]
Tuesday, May 27th 2008
I’m currently in the midst of going through several albums worth of old photos from the pre-digital camera days, so be on the lookout for a new throwback photo gallery soon. Most of the photos were snapped here in San Francisco over the last eleven years and range from skateboarding to partying to straight unexplainable. Some of the pics are hilarious! It’s funny to see how young everyone looks. [...]
![p4070108[1]_1.jpg](/photos/p4070108[1]_1_square.jpg)
_1_square.jpg)
_square.jpg)
![richard[2].mulder_1.jpg](/photos/richard[2].mulder_1_square.jpg)
_1_square.jpg)
