Queens and Western Tiger Swallowtails find common ground South of Market.

Your typical AAA map of San Francisco caters to the tourist of the fanny-pack toting, Ghirardelli-bound variety. For those in search of what the city has to offer beyond Coit Tower there is Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas , Rebecca Solnit’s forthcoming book containing 22 painstakingly researched, intricately drawn maps leading you through Bay Area’s eccentricities, both past and present.

Curious about where Alfred Hitchcock filmed Vertigo? Infinite City has a map for that. Interested in the shifting locations of queer public space or the lost industrial city of 1960? It’s got maps for that, too. Taking an anthropological approach to cartography, Solnit has incorporated people and time to the usual 2D depiction of space. 

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, SFMOMA is issuing six broadside prints of selected maps—one each month through December—accompanied by various presentations, the schedule for which you can view here.

Done in the style of nineteenth-century commemorative maps, this map marks the Bay Area's protected green spaces, along with the women who helped make it happen.

Somewhere between New York and California by way of Tralfamadore—in Indianapolis to be exact, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial library is getting ready to open its doors to the public. The library will house the prolific writer’s body of work, from his novels and essays to a collection of rejection letters he received throughout the years. Vonnegut relics like his artwork, typewriter, and Purple Heart will be displayed for worshipers of all things wry.

On your way to (or from) Indiana, stop by The Cove in Chicago, a Hyde Park watering hole where University of Chicago students claim Vonnegut wrote Cat’s Cradle, his thesis project while attending the university.

The latest trend at hotels for once doesn't involve bigger TVs, nicer bath amenities, or some kind of mobile app: Bees are the latest must-have at properties worldwide, mirroring a growing interest in beekeeping among the foodie set. Sounds unbelievable, we admit, but more than a dozen hotels are now promoting not just their colonies but the benefits associated with keeping a hive on site.

Leading the way is Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, which now has 10 (!) apicultural properties from China to Kenya to San Francisco. In Kunshan, China, bees roam 200 acres of private, organic vegetable and herb gardens at the Fairmont Yangcheng Lake. The approximately 32,000 bees at the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club churn out honey for guests, who can sign up for lectures given by local beekeeper Stephen Macharia. And at the Fairmont San Francisco, Marshall Farms provided the roughly 50,000 bees that chef J.W. Foster is using in afternoon tea service, cocktails, and desserts at the hotel's three restaurants.

The Westin Annapolis is also in on the trend. The more than 35,000 bees living on the hotel's rooftop produce more than 100 pounds of honey a year, which chef James Barrett is using in his signature (and Chesapeake watershed-appropriate) Old Bay honey-cashew brittle.

In Manhattan, the Ace Hotel got its bees in July. While chef April Bloomfield hasn't yet integrated the hyper-local honey into any dishes at The Breslin, the hotel's blog promises that you may soon check in to find a jar of honey waiting for you.

And the Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte installed two beehives on its green roof, planted with sedums—as well as lavender, mint, and greens that show up on the menu at the restaurant's BLT Steak restaurant.

Expect huge crowds—and a huge variety of genres—at Jazz Aspen's Labor Day Fest
Photo: Steve Mundinger

With Labor Day weekend fast approaching, those looking to do something less traditional than a suburban-style barbecue should consider going to one of the handful of music festivals happening around the country this Labor Day weekend.

Perhaps one of the best-known and longest-running Labor Day fests is Seattle's Bumbershoot, which is in its 40th year of celebrating music, art, theater, film, and comedy on the sprawling 74-acre grounds of the Seattle Center. This tried-and-true festival has enough clout to bring a diverse lineup of big names—Bob Dylan, Weezer and Drake are all set to perform this year—so the weekend is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

If you prefer palm trees to evergreens, check out L.A.'s FYF Fest. In typical L.A. fashion, FYF is pushing its lineup (which features buzzed-about indie rockers Local Natives, the quirkily acoustic Mountain Goats and punk-noise rock from Thee Oh Sees, to name a few acts) just as much as it's emphasizing its hipster sensibility. From DIY screen-printing booths to a plethora of vegetarian and vegan food truck offerings, FYF is sure to be a quintessentially So Cal experience.

West coasters aren't the only ones celebrating Labor Day at music festivals, though...

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Photo: Miguel Rosario

While big cities like New York and L.A. have plenty to offer in terms of museums and cultural events, New Englanders shouldn't overlook the charms of Providence, Rhode Island. With the help of some of the best emerging artists fresh from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence is solidifying its place as a creative capital of the United States.

Those looking to get some culture this week in Providence should check out the Rhode Island International Film Festival, which begins today and lasts until Sunday. The festival, whose screenings will take place at various locations in and around Providence, is dedicated to showcasing independent filmmakers whose work is often overlooked. Perhaps the most unique part is that all the films were selected from more than 4,000 submissions, not culled from other festivals, so even if you're familiar with the film festival scene you'll be in for something new.

If enjoying art and music outdoors is more your style, head over to 115 Empire Street this Saturday for the 25th anniversary of FooFest. The all-day festival, which was created by Providence non-profit community arts space AS220 celebrates local art and music with more than 20 art installations and creative activities, plus live performances from bands all day, from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. for only $5.

Take a break from the festival to ogle Shepard Fairey's "Providence Industrial" mural, above, which will be completed on Saturday. Fairey gained fame with his iconic Obama "hope" poster, and his propaganda-themed Providence mural will feature historic local landmarks that he remembers from his time living in Providence. The 38-foot-by-80-foot mural is located on Aborn Street between Washington Street and Westminster Street.

Last night, we got a media preview of the new Gansevoort Park Avenue hotel, scheduled to open on August 16 with a three-level rooftop bar-and-lounge and an indoor-outdoor pool with great views of the Empire State Building. While there are plenty of finishing touches yet to address in the next two weeks, 140 of the hotel's planned 249 rooms are ready now—done up in signature Gansevoort blue and pink, with up-to-the-second electronics and custom Cutler products. Introductory rates for stays before September start at $345.

This weekend, Blagojevich chatter will be drowned out by the sounds emanating from the eight stages of Chicago’s annual music festival Lollapalooza. While the front line up is impressive—Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Stars—we suggest you direct your attention to a few bands that might be under your radar.

Baby-faced Christopher Chu leads Bay Area quartet Morning Benders through their 50’s inspired pop tunes (“Excuses,” “Cold War”) and their more experimental sounds (“Mason Jar,” “Stitches”), which take inspiration from Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor, a producer on their sophomore album Big Echo.

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The newly formed CultureLine highlights 10 museums in East London that are all conveniently located just steps from each stop of the reopened London Overground's East London Line.

Institutions on the line include the Hackney Museum, Whitechapel Gallery, and the Brunel Museum. But just because they don't have the endowment of the British Museum doesn't mean there isn't cool stuff to look at—like George Washington's false teeth and a marine iguana from Darwin's adventures to the Galapagos Islands.

It's a great time to explore East London before the Olympics come to that side of town and prices skyrocket. Although walking around parts of East London could be sketchy (this blogger lived there for a bit and Whitechapel is not somewhere you want to be past sundown), museum mavens will love this side of town.

The cycles available for hire in London, decked out in blue, gray and black.
From Flickr / Soggy Semolina

Another day, another bicycle-share program launched, this time in London.

The British capital unveiled the new cycle share program last week, in conjunction with banking giant Barclays, to encourage denizens to get around the city on two wheels.

Six thousand silver-and-blue bikes will be scattered around London with 400 stations spaced at 300-yard intervals, according to CNN. Users pay a £1 ($1.59) access fee plus a usage charge, which escalates the longer you use the bike. The first half-hour is free, however. Bikers must also pay for a £3 ($4.78) membership key to release the bike. The prices appear to be comparable to other cities.

Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor's Transport Advisor, has big hopes for the bike sharing program. "This will change London forever," he told CNN, adding that the bikes could soon become iconic parts of the city, just like red double-decker buses and black cabs.

The view of the rooftop from The James.

We got a sneak peek at the highly anticipated The James hotel Tuesday night in SoHo. Slated to open in early September, the hotel boasts 114 rooms and suites and "unobstructed views of Manhattan," like this one here.

As at the brand's Chicago property, the hotel features modern architecture and sleek interiors that our friends at HotelChatter loved. Each room has outward opening windows (a rarity on the New York hotel scene), reading lights in the beds' headboards, impressive bathrooms featuring rainfall shower heads, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

But our fave feature was the wonderful roof deck with sweeping views of the New York skyline, alongside a rooftop bar (obviously) and a pool with outdoor showers.

The James is running a opening offer of sorts for $349 a night, with complimentary in-room breakfast, until the end of October.

More pictures after the jump.

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