Matt's Writing

Mayor Jean Quan watches a boy plant a tree in honor of Hiram Lawrence in West Oakland Hiram Lawrence was one-year-old when he was shot in Oakland on November 28, 2011. On Saturday, July 21, 2012 approximately 200 cyclists turned out for the 5th Annual Peace Ride in his honor. The event, sponsored by Bikes 4 Life bike shop , ended in West Oakland with a tree planting and dedication ceremony in Hiram's honor, attended by Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. This cycling event started on the north side of Lake Merritt at 5pm. A diverse group of Oakland residents turned out on road bikes, mountain bikes, tandems, and scraper bikes riding as a pack through some of Oakland's "100 Blocks" neighborhoods. The riders cycled from Lake Merritt through the Fruitvale District near the Fruitvale BART station. They then continued on Embarcadero to Jack London Square, Downtown Oakland, and then cycled on 7th Street to West West Oakland. Riders ended the route in West Oakland in fro...

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind. On September 25, I left Yosemite for San Francisco. I then went to India for work by way of Dubai. I traveled to Hyderabad and Bangalore. I took some vacation and went to Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Vrindavan, and then back to Delhi and Bangalore. I flew back to Dubai, then San Francisco, and I found myself at the Life is Living festival in West Oakland this past Saturday, October 8. I've been traveling a ton, and I've and seen some of the most amazing sights on the planet and interacted with such a cross section of world cultures in the last 2 weeks. It's been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Here are some photos of where I've traveled to in the last 14 days. More blog posts will follow with in-depth coverage of each major location. Me at Glacier Point, Yosemite, with Half Dome in the background Taj Mahal in Agra, India Questlove from The Roots DJing at the Life is Living festival in West Oakland