My A Form (6th Grade) teacher Mr. Davenport used the phrase “intuitively obvious to the most casual observer” a lot, and not in a kind way.

He also used the expression “literal-minded Igorot,” also not in a kind way.  Igorot is the collective name of several highland ethnic groups in the mountains of Luzon region of the Philippines.  I have no idea why an Igorot would be literal-minded.

I do know, however, that the choice for song-to-go-with-post is intuitively obvious.  See above.

Rainbows and unicorns!  We don’t have many unicorns – as in, I have yet to see a unicorn depicted in a public space in Berkeley – but we’ve got rainbows.

Wavy Gravy’s Camp Winnarainbow, which is based but not sited here, is probably our most famous rainbow.

Runner-up for Best Berkeley Rainbow-Used-In-Name, is on San Pablo just south of University:

Another rainbow business is the lovely little fairytale building on MLK:

In 1985 we had Rainbow Village. Paul Fusco, whose photos of the Robert Kennedy funeral train are seared in my memory, made these photos:

It was an encampment of cars, vans, and buses near the Marina where people who were otherwise homeless lived.  Cheerful name or not, Rainbow Village was a rough place when the City shut it down in 1986. Fusco captured the rough side, didn’t he?

What, you ask, is our biggest rainbow?

That would be Amoeba Records, Telegraph at Haste.  While on Telegraph, or just around the corner from Telegraph:

This is from the short-lived Earth Bizarre.

Continuing with institutions, here is a church rainbow:

A garage rainbow:

We paint rainbows on our homes.  In this first one, a Stefen mural, we even get the pot of gold at the end of the faded rainbow.

There is a second pot of gold.

No rainbow, but the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow at Olivia Hunter’s pink and purple trimmed house on Bancroft.

Driving up and down Cedar you have seen this house:

As long as I remember, 1717 Cedar has given us rainbows – although I had not noticed the chimney until recently.  With the magic of Google Maps, I can see that it was added sometime between 2008 and 2011.  So much for my powers of observation.

It is intuitive obvious that schools and playgrounds would like rainbows. The new mural at the Oxford School features a rainbow visible from the Short Cut path between Oxford and Walnut:

At Thousands Oak, there is a mention of rainbow although not an actual rainbow image:

 

For another rainbow image, there is the mural at Totland.

As does the Mural at the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Center.

And a mural on the restrooms at People’s Park:

 

Lastly, we have our rainbows on accessories – mail boxes, planters, fences, chairs, bike stands.  And so on.

The one rainbow accessory that I am taking a pass on is the rainbow flag; that will be a separate post.  Except:

I couldn’t resist this – the flag flying in front of City Hall on the day that same-sex marriage became the law of the land.  It is said that the first gay pride flag flew in the San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.

And I will make a second exception and note the rainbow flag in the mural at the recently departed InkWorks.

One last gasp/grasp, delving into history:

The Dirty Rainbow – an art store in the 1960s.

I took the rainbow photos to my friend.

He had this photo on his work table and was researching anteaters as pets.  He had, he said, come to the conclusion that they smell pretty bad and thus are not optimal pets, Salvador Dali or no Salvador Dali.  He wondered what Dali was on when he wrote that the giant anteater “reaches sizes bigger than the horse, possesses enormous ferocity, has exceptional muscle power, is a terrifying animal.”

I put some water on for tea as he browsed the photos.  His impression?