Juliana Bunim

All-day Japanese open market art event on Saturday

Seiji Horibuchi, the founder of New People — a 20,000-square-foot structure offering the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan — will host the Tokyo Creators Market starting Saturday. The exhibit, at 1746 Post St., includes the works of seven unique artists from Japan and is free to the public. Why are you focused on Japanese pop culture? I created New People to present Japanese pop culture in a variety of ways. I discovered as founder of VIZ Media, which has published manga for the last 24 years, that people already familiar with anime and manga are becoming interested in exploring more aspects of Japanese pop culture. How do you decide what artists to...

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Sports medicine clinic celebrates 30th anniversary

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Garrick is the founder and director of the Center for Sports Medicine in San Francisco — the first hospital-based multi-specialty clinic in the United States dealing with athletic injuries. The Center recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and was renamed in Dr. Garrick’s honor. What innovations have changed the field of sports medicine since you started your career? We’re much more aggressive with exercise and rehab after injury. Thirty-five years ago, we’d put people in a cast or a brace and leave them for three or four weeks. Now, when people have knee surgery, they’re moving the day of the operation, and that’s the...

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Professor to discuss book on farming

Paul Kibel, an associate professor at the Golden Gate University School of Law, organized a law and policy conference called “Farming and Food: How We Grow What We Eat,” which is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at 536 Mission St. Can you give an example of how law and policy shape farming and food? In terms of the relationship between law and farming practices, I can cite at least three specific examples. First, the issue of water rights in California affects the amount of water that is used for agriculture irrigation. Second, the ability to patent agricultural crops affects the diversity of our food supply. And third, state and federal slaughter house practices...

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Business Ethics Week begins today at SF State

Denise Kleinrichert, assistant professor of management and ethics at San Francisco State University’s business school, is co-organizing the school’s fourth annual Business Ethics Week, which starts today. Do you think the ethical transgressions we’ve been hearing about are more common, or just drawing more attention? I believe that the ethical transgressions we’ve seen in the 1990s and currently are largely reflective of two things: Greater public awareness of the significant financial and market harm that has occurred by overemphasis in some organizations on short-term profit at the expense of long-term integrated economic, social and environmental impacts of...

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Author Rhoda Janzen on going home again

After a debilitating car accident, her husband left her and she was stuck with a mortgage she couldn’t afford, the author returned home to her Mennonite parents, an adventure which she chronicles in her new memoir, “Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.” She will be reading at Book Passage in the Ferry Building on Nov. 4. What inspired you to write the book? Writing e-mails to friends. I was trained as a poet and it never occurred to me to write a memoir. I have a colleague who teaches creative writing, and she said [to] save the e-mails and thought they were funny. She encouraged me. At the time, I was in that place where nothing feels like a risk when everything has...

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Reading event designed to challenge world record

Lygia Stebbing, the Bay Area director of the nonprofit Jumpstart is kicking off “Read for the Record” at the San Francisco Public Library at 10 a.m. Thursday. The organization invites adults across America to read with young children and set the world record for the number of children reading the same book in a single day. How many adults and children do you expect will participate in the San Francisco event? More than 10,000 children will be participating throughout The City and we have over 100 registered events to date. There will be 250 children at the main event, along with approximately 150 adults. We have distributed 6,500 books to low-income [children under 5] in...

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Flower Design founder Michael Gaffney shares his eye-catching secrets

The founder of the nationally acclaimed School of Flower Design is launching a four-week program in San Francisco, kicking off Oct. 1. The school is located at 640 Brannan St. in the heart of the Flower Market. What is the purpose of the school? It’s a course designed to teach effective design principles to enable new people in the industry to design like professionals. What is flower design based on? It’s based on structure, mechanics and the architecture of a beautiful bouquet. Flower design is like a Rubik’s cube, only easier. It’s based on lots of formulas and patterns. What if students don’t have any experience working with flowers? The majority of...

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Jurita Pupella will take part in Friends of the Poor Walk

Jurita Pupella, the co-chair for St. Vincent de Paul’s second annual Friends of the Poor Walk will be participating in the event on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Lake Merced. What prompted the creation of the Friends of the Poor Walk? The Friends of the Poor Walk was begun to help create a spirit of community involvement and energy while providing services for The City’s homeless population, as well as to the working poor. How many walkers participated last year? We had around 200 walkers last year, and this year we are hoping to double that — it is not too late to register! You can register the day of. What are some changes to this year’s event from last year’s...

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Dr. Conrad Fischer on the everyday miracles of modern medicine

The infectious disease specialist and author of “Routine Miracles, Personal Journeys of Patients and Doctors Discovering the Powers of Modern Medicine” will speaking at the Berkeley Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions Center at 2 p.m. Saturday. Why do you think there’s a disconnect between medical progress and young doctors? They have their minds damaged by older doctors. Older doctors are damaged by an irrational health care financing system. How would you define a routine miracle? Routine miracles are standard, approved therapies that do extraordinary things for people, such as restore sight, relieve deafness or raise you from the dead. What do you think are some of...

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Local pro gardener encouraging donations to programs

Local professional gardener Kim Haworth has teamed with Hansen’s Natural and the National Gardening Association to encourage San Franciscans to help raise $10,000 for Bay Area schools’ gardening programs. How are you helping to raise money for school programs? Hansen’s is celebrating San Francisco with an online contest where people can post a photo and vote for other people’s photos. For every photo that receives a vote, 10 cents goes to a children’s gardening program in the Bay Area. Why is gardening important for kids? Gardening keeps you connected with the Earth. It opens the door to learning that kids can feel and take part in. What do you encourage...

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What we can learn from the dying

Stan Goldberg,the former San Francisco State University professor, who holds degrees in speech pathology, political theory and philosophy, is the author of the recently released “Lessons for the Living: Stories of Forgiveness, Gratitude and Courage at the End of Life.” What prompted you to write this book? I was writing another book at the time and as I was taking care of people in hospice, I realized I had been privileged to be given some timeless lessons and felt I had an obligation to share them. How did your experience with hospice change your view of death? At the lowest level, it took the fear away. Whatever it is I know it will be a spiritual event and I’ve...

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Josh Tickell goes green with algae-powered car

The founder of the Veggie Van Organization and director of the upcoming film “FUEL” will unveil the Algaeus, the world’s first algae-powered car, in front of City Hall at 2:30 p.m. today. The car will drive across the country to New York City, where “FUEL” will premiere Sept. 18. How can a car be powered by algae? It makes sense because most algae produce oil to buoy themselves up in water in order to get close to sunlight. Sapphire Energy, our algae partner on this project, is on the cutting edge of producing what they call green crude, which is like a Texas sweet crude, only produced from algae. What kind of car is the Algaeus? It’s a 2008 Toyota...

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Program director explains green financing for small businesses

Urban Solutions’ Green Business Initiative program provides consulting and public workshops to educate small businesses to conserve resources and save money. Executive director Jenny McNulty explains how easy going green can be. Their workshop “Green financing for green businesses” is Tuesday. For more information, visit www.urbansolutionssf.org What is Urban Solutions? We’re trying to get all businesses to think about how they can green their business. We provide free site visits where we go to the location of the business and make tailored recommendations about what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. What are some ways businesses can be more...

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AT&T Park’s garlic fries stand goes green

When the Giants kick off their season on April 7, one concession stand in AT&T Park will be as green as the grass on the field. Continuing in their attempt to become the “greenest ballpark in the majors,” the Giants announced a slew of new environmental initiatives at their annual media day on Wednesday, beginning with sustainable practices related to the park’s beloved garlic fries. Since last season, the team has completely retrofitted the Gilroy Garlic Fries stand on the promenade level of AT&T Park, making the vendor a paragon of environmental efficiency, according to Giants president Larry Baer. Gas consumption on the fryers has been reduced by 32 percent...

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