When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, it’s a good core workout. If you’re sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More
Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
The world nearly stopped last year when rumors that this well-graffitied, deeply historied Market Street rock 'n' roll bar would be knocked down and turned into condos started circulating.
Day Wave, Marin native Jackson Phillips' lo-fi, indie-pop band, sounds like a red popsicle that melts between your fingers as you lick it while sitting Indian-style on a patch of grass.
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
Having emerged on the scene last summer just in time for all the outdoor festivals, Yarness is back with a new set of fetish wear that swaps leather and latex for hand-crocheted, neon-colored yarn. (For the uninitiated, yarn + harness = Yarness.) With a body-positive, pan-gender ethos, Yarness is San Franciscan to the core, such that it popped up in a rave scene on HBO's Looking last year.
While the original collection was mostly riffs on BDSM harnesses, the new set gets even more playful. There's a puppy hood (complete with pink tongue), mesh singlets, a T-shirt whose logo captures the dazzle of Yarness's signature GIF of a full-size human having a good time, and a clutch of jock straps, along with an even more elaborate group of harness designs. Assembled by local seamstresses, it's a conspicuously fair enterprise in an industry awash with exploitation, plus it's keeping creative people tethered to the city where they belong. And there's a puppy leash, too.
"Since 2014, Yarness has traveled to Dallas, Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York, and Barcelona," says co-creator Ryan Crowder, "setting up shop at gay dance clubs and parties, craft shows, and fetish fairs. Our iconography has traversed even farther, with over 10 million people viewing our GIFs — whether as our status as a meme in China, or a signal that 'Hey, it's Friday!' on Facebook from Kansas to Mexico City."
Although BDSM culture has come roaring back, it can be altogether self-serious and — inadvertently or not — promotes impossible physiologies over what people here in the ordinary world look like. With its whimsy and creative license, Yarness adds a dose of levity to the scene. If a leather cap belongs to that unsmiling guy who makes sustained eye contact in the alley, Yarness is the friend who tells you you look adorbs while dancing ecstatically at the Shamir show. And from now through Xmas Eve, a special one-hour delivery is available with the code #UberRUSH. Go ahead, adorn that torso!
Bio:
Peter Lawrence Kane is SF Weekly's Arts Editor. He has lived in San Francisco since 2008 and is two-thirds the way toward his goal of visiting all 59 national parks.
Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"
