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 $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More
December is almost over - the New Year is coming up and everyone is busy drying off from the rain or holiday shopping. Let's take a look at what's happened this month.
Summer camp doesn't need to be in the Sierra foothills — in fact, lifelong companions and a longer-lasting obsession can be found anywhere there's a friendly stretch of San Francisco pavement.
Is Rita Ora Getting Slut-Shamed Out of a More Successful U.S. Career?
PostedByRae Alexandra
on Wed, May 27, 2015 at 9:33 AM
click image
Rita Ora / Instagram
A$AP Rocky's new album At. Long. Last. A$AP came out yesterday, a week earlier than expected, and immediately prompted rumblings across the internet, thanks to the lyrical content of track 14, "Better Things". On it, Rocky raps: "I swear that bitch Rita Ora got a big mouth/ Next time I see her, might curse the bitch out/ Kicked the bitch out once cause she bitched out/ Spit my kids out, jizzed up all in her mouth and made the bitch bounce."
Congratulations, A$AP Rocky! This is the most misguided piece of bullshit slut-shaming we've seen in months!
We know what you're thinking: isn't airing private beefs publicly while saying "bitch" a lot, pretty typical in hip-hop? Well, sure. But commonly, the person getting the verbal smackdown is alluded to, rather than named in full and up front. And usually, the beef is based within the confines of musical rivalry or stepping on toes. Rita Ora isn't just outside of A$AP Rocky's scene, she also isn't someone who has ever even been publicly romantically linked with him. So what's Rocky's problem exactly? Being on the receiving end of a successful blow job once? Why shame and degrade Rita Ora like this, seemingly unprompted?
Ora's relationship complications are so well-documented, we have to wonder if Rocky was just feeling left out of the gossip whirlwind that follows the London singer around. The first time social media came crashing down on Ora, it was thanks to Robert Kardashian, who went apeshit on Twitter in December 2012, accusing Ora of cheating on him with "nearly 20 dudes." (Nineteen and a half?) By the time Ora finally responded to his accusations in Look magazine three months later ("When you're involved with someone for a while and they decided to express their feelings to the public — that's not my personal way of therapy, but I guess everyone takes split-ups differently"), Kardashian fans had already set up a @RitaWhora Twitter account, and #RitaWhora and #RitaOral had been trending topics.
Five months after the Kardashian split, Ora got together with Calvin Harris, stayed in that relationship for a year and had a hit with Harris in the form of "I Will Never Let You Down". After the couple split, Ora explained her reason for not performing the track at that year's Teen Choice Awards, telling Ryan Seacrest that Harris "owns the rights to it" and "has to approve anything TV-wise". Harris then hit Twitter and said simply: "I choose not to talk to the papers about every aspect of my personal life... But just know I had a damn good reason." Rumors quickly flew that Ora had cheated on Harris with Justin Bieber.
Then, at the end of 2014, Ora got slammed on social media for her "matronly" appearance in 50 Shades of Grey, while almostsimultaneously vilified for showing too much cleavage on a British talk show — proving that, truly, Rita Ora cannot win. By the beginning of 2015, SPIN had even published an article titled 'Why Does Everyone Hate Rita Ora?' (listing all of the reasons it was OK to hate Rita Ora).
Even with all of that in mind, this latest violation by A$AP Rocky is particularly humiliating, even by the horrifying standards Rita Ora has been forced to grow accustomed to. Keep in mind that Ms. Ora is currently the ripe old age of 24. She, like us, probably understands that all pop stars — especially the young, female ones — are subject to a lot of online abuse and harsh media criticism. But Ora is in the unusual position of having to tolerate the kind of scrutiny usually reserved for megastars like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, while not actually reaping the rewards on a professional level (in America at least).
The truth of the matter is that this attack from A$AP Rocky is out of left field, it's vicious, and it reeks of the double standards that are pervasive in our culture; with TMZ telling us that "super DJ" Calvin Harris can — and should — have a "car full of bitches", while the meaning of "Rita Ora" on UrbanDictionary is: "If she wasn't such a slut, she wouldn't be famous." This statement is particularly ironic, given that the consistent slut-shaming that has plagued Ora's public persona in the U.S. has probably cheated her out of the level of success she has been able to achieve in her native U.K. This abusive move by A$AP Rocky might just be the final — totally uncalled for — nail in the coffin.
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.'"
