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.
Plus a look at L.A.'s thriving, 116-year-old equivalent to S.F.'s departed Fizzary, and Europe has determined that MDMA is popular again.
S.F. Chef Opens Old Town Tap in Truckee
Going to Tahoe this summer? Chef Adam Hinojosa — formerly of Per Diem and Noir here in S.F. — has signed on to Old Town Tap (10164 Donner Pass Road), a bar and pizzeria now open in downtown Truckee. (Hinojosa had lived there before his stint on the coast.) He's serving things like scallops (with saffron corn aioli, roasted corn, corn gastrique, and fava beans), an asparagus and speck Neapolitan-style pizza (aged balsamic, cream, lemonzest, mozza, egg, caramelized onions), and cheese curds, with 16 beers and 12 wines on tap.
Little Griddle Closes for Renovations
The Mid-Market diner at 1400 Market Street will be back around Aug. 1, says Hoodline.
But Blondie's Pizza Is Gone for Good
SFist caught that the pizzeria at 63 Powell is permanently shuttered after a roach infestation earlier in May. Twitter users noted that the interior is "totally scraped clean."
The EU Discovers that Ecstasy is Popular
Those kids today, always smoking ecstasies and other mollydrugs! Actually, not that many people take MDMA overall, but The Guardian notes that dosages are higher and EDM festivals have brought "MDMA to a new generation of young people who were not even born in the drug’s heyday during the 1990s house, rave, and techno scenes."
WHO Says Plain Packaging Helps Kill Cigarettes' Glamour
Happy World No Tobacco Day! "Plain packaging reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products. It kills the glamour, which is appropriate for a product that kills people,” says WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. Maybe not imprinting ecstasy tablets with picture of the AOL running man would have suppressed that drug's glamour in 1998?
Walmart's Presence Growing in China
So says the Associated Press, and it's because corruption, widespread food-borne illnesses, and deceptive business practices have people rattled, which gives standardized, reliable foreign brands like Walmart even more cachet. One challenge: Many Chinese grocery shoppers can be wary of steep discounts, because instead of leaping at a deal like Americans do, they suspect that something must be wrong with marked-down merch.
Inside L.A.'s 119-Year-Old Soda Shop
The Fizzary fizzled, but Galco’s Old World Grocery in L.A.'s Highland Park, carries nothing but soda: 750 varieties from independent brands, as the New York Times Style magazine found. And it's all glass!
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.'"
